View clinical trials related to Parkinson's Disease.
Filter by:Freezing of gait (FOG) is a common yet poorly understood motor symptom in persons with Parkinson's disease (PD). Previous studies have shown that bilateral uncoordinated gait and gait asymmetry are related to FOG, and that intensive treadmill training in PD patients can improve gait. However, no group has yet studied the effect of robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) on FOG. The primary aim of this study is to collect pilot data on the effect of robot-assisted gait training in reducing episodes of freezing in PD. Subjects with Parkinson's disease that experience freezing of gait will be recruited and enrolled following informed consent and screening for eligibility. Each of the 10 training session will last approximately one hour. Neurological evaluations, testing of gait parameters, and quality of life assessments will be conducted. Participants will also be asked to return for 1- and 3-month post-intervention assessments to see if the training has any lasting effects. Approximately 10-20 subjects will be enrolled, and the study will last up to 6 months. Robot-assisted gait training will be conducted with the Lokomat (a treadmill with supplemental robot-assistance for moving the hip and knee). We will monitor changes in freezing by conducting various assessments. There are approximately 1 million Americans with PD in the US. PD is a significant cause for reduced functional ability and quality of life, progressive disability. Patients with PD with FOG have indicated that this is one of their most disturbing symptoms, as there are no effective treatments. Therefore it is important that additional and alternative interventions for FOG be tested and developed.
Purpose: 1. To see if cytokine levels and oligomeric alpha-synuclein levels in blood and cerebrospinal fluid could be used as biological markers for Parkinson's disease (PD) onset and progression. 2. To characterize and define patterns in the clinical features of sleep, olfactory function and motor function in the early stages of idiopathic (sporadic) Parkinson's disease (PD)and atypical or late Parkinsonian Syndromes. Procedures: All subjects, control,early PD diagnosis and atypical or late Parkinsonian Syndromes, will have 1) a medical and neuro history and physical including videotaping of movements, 2) neuropsychological testing, 3) a sleep study, 4) olfactory (sense of smell) testing, 5)blood draw and LP for serum and CSF testing, & 6) functional MRI. All of these procedures are often done in the diagnosis of PD. Any test performed prior to enrollment as part of the clinical evaluation may be used in place of repeating the procedure. Subjects will have 1 set of study visits (up to 3 visits) in order to accomplish a complete set of data.
The purpose of this pilot program is to develop and evaluate a new treatment program for depression in Parkinson's disease (PD). The treatment uses Cognitive Behavior Therapy(CBT)to teach patients how to become more aware of their thoughts and feelings and to change thinking patterns and behaviors that may be related to depressive symptoms. This is the first time that this treatment has been used in a group setting for depression in PD. Target population is patients in the Movement Disorders Clinic at Oregon Health & Science University who have Parkinson's disease and mild to moderate depression.
To determine the long-term consequences (8 years) of initiating patients with Parkinson's disease on either pramipexole or levodopa. We hypothesize that patients initiating therapy with pramipexole compared with levodopa will demonstrate less self-reported disability as measured by the Modified Schwab and England (S/E) scale 8 years after randomization.
Levodopa is the main drug treatment for Parkinson's disease. Levodopa can cause unwanted and uncontrolled movements called dyskinesias. A drug called amantadine can reduce these movements. To date, there are no objective measures of these movements. The purpose of this study is to measure the reduction of the movements by amantadine and/or topiramate using an objective measure.
The purpose of this study is to gather observational data on an already FDA-approved implantation technique for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in which the entire surgery is performed within an MRI scanner ("interventional MRI", or iMRI). With this surgical technique, the patient is fully asleep (under general anesthesia) during DBS implantation. The standard method for the placement of deep brain stimulators does not use MRI during the actual DBS placement. The standard method involves placement of a rigid frame on the patient's head, performance of a short MRI scan, transport to the operating room, placement of the DBS electrodes in the operating room, and return to the MRI suite for another MR to confirm correct electrode placement. In the standard method, the patient must be awake for 2-4 hours in the operating room to have "brain mapping" performed, where the brain target is confirmed by passing "microelectrodes" (thin wires) into the brain to record its electrical activity. In the standard method, general anesthesia is not required. With the iMRI technique, the surgery is guided entirely by MRI images performed multiple times as the DBS electrode is advanced. This eliminates the need for the patient to be awake, and eliminates the need for passing microelectrodes into the brain before placing the permanent DBS electrode.
The purpose of this study is to characterize and compare irregularities in dopaminergic function in fronto-subcortical circuits, between Parkinson's Disease patients (ON and OFF medication) and patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, by examining performance on cognitive tasks involving cognitive flexibility, decision-making, and attentional bias.
The purpose of this study is to determine if low level magnetic fields may help to relieve symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Apathy usually refers to a set of behavioural, emotional and cognitive features as a reduced interest and participation in main activities of daily life, a lack of initiative, a trend toward an early withdrawal from started activities, an indifference and a flattening of affect. We have validated a new specific scale (Lille Apathy Rating Scale, LARS) in order to detect and quantify apathy in Parkinson's disease (PD). Apathy was shown to be frequent in PD with a prevalence of 32%. It has suggested that the medial frontal and limbic cholinergic deficits may underlie apathy in neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease (AD). Such a hypothesis is supported by recent evidence indicating the beneficial effects of cholinesterase inhibitors on neuropsychiatric symptoms, mainly apathy, in AD patients. As the efficacy of rivastigmine on cognition has also been shown in PD, we aimed to assess with a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multicenter trial, the efficacy and acceptability of a 6 months treatment with rivastigmine on apathy in 60 patients with PD without dementia. The primary end point will be the LARS score and the secondary end points will be the cognitive, behavioural and motor symptoms of PD. Two add-on studies will be proposed: first the measure of choline and glutamate peaks on Magnetic Resonance Spectrometry focused on the structures implicated in apathy in order to give insights in the physiopathological mechanisms of the treatment. Secondly, the recording of the REM sleep behavior disorders in relation with the cholinergic part of the pedunculopontine nucleus. Regarding that apathy could be one of the first steps toward PD dementia, treating very early could have substantial implications on the patients and their caregiver.
By creating a neurogenebank from Parkinson's disease patients' blood donations we will ultimately be able to define genes for Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions.