View clinical trials related to Parkinson's Disease.
Filter by:The role of the cerebello-thalamo-cortical loop in the generation of tremor, gait impairments and postural instability has been made evident. The current study will use a Magstim Rapid 2 to deliver rTMS with the aim of modulating the activity in the vermal/paravermal region of the cerebellum, and consequently the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway. Analysis of the effects of an acute session of stimulation will be made to determine the therapeutic potential of the protocol. Motor symptom improvement will be assessed immediately following stimulation to detect motor symptom improvement up to one hour following stimulation, providing insight into the effectiveness of the protocol to produce benefits which outlast the period of stimulation. Participants will each receive one session of stimulation in the ON state of medication. A pre-assessment will be performed before beginning the session and a post-assessment will be performed immediately following stimulation. There will be two groups, which will both undergo the exact same protocol, however one group will receive real stimulation, and one group will receive sham stimulation.
Sialorrhea is a frequently occurring problem with detrimental effect on quality of life in 25% of PD patients. Currently, there is no intervention approved for sialorrhea in Parkinsons and evidence is only available for a 30-day effect or less. We hypothesize that glycopyrrolate will have a lasting effect in the reduction of sialorrhea in PD patients.
This study will evaluate whether treatment with the α1-agonist, midodrine, reduces subjective orthostatic lightheadedness as measured by the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale for Parkinson's Disease (NMSS) questionnaire, in patients with (positive control group, OH) or without documented orthostatic hypotension(orthostatic intolerance, OI). It will also demonstrate the effect of treatment with an α1-agonist, midodrine, on beat-to-beat blood pressure and heart rate response during Valsalva maneuver (measured by Continuous Non-invasive Arterial Pressure, CNAP) in patients with OI or OH and evaluate the relationship to symptom improvement.
Parkinson's disease (PD) and Drug-induced Parkinsonism (DIP) can be clinically indistinguishable and DIP sometimes represents "unmasking of underlying PD. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship of underlying Parkinson's disease (PD) to the incidence and clinical outcome in DIP using non-motor assessments as a marker for nigrostriatal degeneration. Research Design: This is a nested case-control design to investigate risk factors associated with the development of DIP and persistent Parkinsonism after antipsychotic (AP) withdrawal (a potential clinical marker of underlying PD). Target enrollment is 45 subjects. Methodology: We will examine objective olfactory function (via objective olfactory testing), other non-motor symptoms of PD (via standardized validated questionnaires), and motor findings (via clinical exam and quantitative gait analysis) in: 1) DIP patients (30 subjects) compared to AP-treated patients without Parkinsonism (15 subjects) and 2) patients with persistent Parkinsonism compared to those whose symptoms resolve in the DIP cohort followed prospectively after a change in AP treatment. Additionally, in patients where it was performed clinically, we will evaluate dopamine transporter SPECT imaging (DaTI) as a marker of nigrostriatal integrity examining the ability of qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis to distinguish between pharmacologic and degenerative Parkinsonism. We will also measure serum uric acid and Apolipoprotein A1, two putative biomarkers in early PD, and examine their relationship with clinical and radiologic status.
Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) of the Subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an established treatment for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). STN DBS improves dopaminergic drug-responsive motor symptoms, thus allowing a reduction of post-operative drug dose. However, a considerable variation in the extent of dopaminergic drug reduction has been reported, with values ranging from 20% to 100%. Both L-dopa and DAs can be used, however, there are no formal studies examining which type of antiparkinsonian medication may be more effective and/or better tolerated following STN DBS. Aim of our study is to compare the efficacy and the tolerability of L-dopa monotherapy versus DAs monotherapy after STN DBS over a 3-month follow up period. This study is a prospective, single blind parallel trial comparing L-dopa monotherapy and DAs monotherapy after STN DBS. Patients will be enrolled in pairs, with one patient randomly assigned to L-dopa monotherapy and the other to DA monotherapy after STN DBS (20 patients for each study arm). Treatment assignment will be unmasked for the patient but will be blinded for the neurologist programming DBS and evaluating the patient. Another neurologist will be in charge of medication adjustments. Primary outcome is the change in severity of non-motor symptoms as assessed by the Non-motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS) at 3-month follow up visit after surgery. In spite of an improvement of the motor condition many patients develop apathy and depression following surgery ("Neurosurgery in Parkinson's disease: the doctor is happy, the patient less so"). This study will shed light on the best way to manage patients after STN procedure, thus contributing to a further improvement of the surgical outcome in a population of young and motivated patients (those commonly receiving STN DBS), eventually bringing them closer to a normal personal and social life. Results of our study may provide new insights in the management of advanced PD after STN DBS, further leading to development of future larger trials.
The aim of this pilot study is to investigate the effect of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) in decreasing constipation symptoms in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). A second but optional aim is to determine if OMM changes the bacterial flora of the mouth and gut. OMM is a safe and gentle manual treatment provided by osteopathic physicians. All participants will receive OMM during the second half of the eleven week trial.
This study will be done because the investigators would like to evaluate product satisfaction of two PINS products (product A, product B) that are to evaluate the effectiveness of rechargeable and non-rechargeable Deep Brain Stimulation (at baseline visit and at follow-up visit) and by evaluating their responses to the product satisfaction survey that will be given to them by a study coordinator.
Several animal and human epidemiologic studies have provided evidence that exercise may be neuroprotective in Parkinson's disease (PD). Exercise may forestall diagnosis and, in the case of those who have already been diagnosed with PD, it may slow the observed neurodegeneration. Unfortunately, because this line of research is in early stages, there is little evidence to indicate what biological mechanisms underlie the neuroprotection that is conferred with exercise. Toward this end, it is possible that an interaction between endogenous antioxidant enzymes, inflammatory processes, and reactive oxygen species may be associated with exercise improvements in PD. One of the most common reasons for premature death in PD is falls. Several meta-analyses have concluded that exercise training programs focused on balance and/or strength training are effective at improving aspects of balance. Taken together, the current body of evidence suggests that exercise may be neuroprotective and balance/strength training may decrease the likelihood of a fall. The combination of these efficacious treatment modalities (exercise and balance/strength training) in a comprehensive treatment approach to improve PD symptoms and balance has been previously reported at relatively mild or moderate exercise intensities. Because recent research has suggested that patients with PD may benefit more from more physically intense programs, we are proposing a more aggressive approach with regard to exercise intensity and frequency in the present trial. The primary purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility and safety of a high intensity exercise approach to PD. A secondary purpose is to determine the trajectory of change in outcomes over the duration of the trial from a high intensity fall prevention program. It is hoped that a signal of efficacy will allow this trial to progress to a comparative effectiveness trial. An important innovative design element is collecting biological assays to better understand the mechanism underlying the anticipated clinical improvements. Aim 1 is to test the feasibility of a high-intensity exercise and fall prevention boot camp (HIBC) in patients with PD by analyzing adherence and whether they achieve minimum Centers for Disease Control exercise standards (150 min/wk moderate level aerobic exercise; strengthening at least two times per week) for the duration of the trial. Aim 2 is to determine if participation in an 8-week HIBC under the direction of a physical therapist is safe for individuals with PD. Secondary Aim 3 is to determine if participation in an 8-week HIBC will produce a signal of efficacy for several physical outcomes: falls per physical activity ratio, balance efficacy, motor activity, fatigue, muscle strength, bone health, cognition/mood, and quality of life. Secondary Aim 4 is to determine if participation in an 8-week HIBC will produce a signal of efficacy for biological outcomes, anti-inflammatory cytokines and anti-oxidant enzymes. An additional exploratory aim will be an analysis of BDNF val66val, val66met, met66met polymorphisms to determine if there is a differential response to exercise. This trial is innovative because it utilizes a high intensity comprehensive exercise treatment approach (aerobic exercise, strengthening, and balance training). To our knowledge, there have been no trials of individuals with PD who have participated in a trial of this intensity in a group "boot camp" setting. Another innovative design element is the use of three novel assessments: biological assays of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, endogenous anti-oxidant enzymes and a novel assessment of falls (falls per physical activity ratio). Participants will be randomly assigned into either an 8-week HIBC group or an 8-week usual care control group (standard, low intensity group therapy class) under the direction of physical therapists. Each group will have 15 participants with a 1:5 patient-to-therapist ratio. The HIBC will be 1.5 hours daily, Monday through Friday. Participants will be required to attend 3 out of the 5 days. The protocol of the HIBC will include the following exercise components: A. 30 minutes of moderate-high intensity aerobic exercise; B. 15 minutes of strengthening the major muscle groups; C. 15 minutes of balance training; and, D. 15 minutes of interspersed rest and stretching. Participants will rotate through these four exercise components. Participants will have one baseline test and assessments at the 2-week, 4 week, 8-week, and 6-month points. Outcomes of the primary aims (Aim 1 and Aim 2) will be frequency counts of participation, adverse events, and compliance with exercise. The outcomes for the secondary aims will include measures of balance and falls, physical capacity, fatigue, exercise/physical activity behavior, and biological assays.
The purpose of this study is to see if selegiline and tadalafil (generic for Cialis®) results in an improvement in Erectile dysfunction (ED) in male patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and moderate ED. Male PD patients who have an incomplete response to tadalafil alone will be given both medications to see if the addition of selegiline improves ED symptoms more than tadalafil alone. It is common practice for a medical doctor to prescribe these two drugs to a patient like you. However, there have been no studies conducted to examine the effects of these medications when taken together. Selegiline is normally prescribed for PD patients that are taking carbidopa/levodopa who are not receiving complete benefit from carbidopa/levodopa. Tadalafil is normally prescribed to men who have erectile dysfunction and/or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
This study will investigate the effects of a contingency-based musical walking intervention program called Ambulosono on neural mechanisms in the brain. The investigators will investigate the long-term impact of Ambulosono on brain plasticity with functional MRI technique. Participants will undergo 3 months of Ambulosono training and their pre-training and post-training fMRI brain scans will be compared to understand the neural networks and brain mechanisms following this intervention. The investigators hypothesized that Ambulosono may induce functional compensatory reorganization of neural networks in the brain. This project will allow us to address the important potential confound of placebo influence and to aid in optimizing this intervention program. Additionally, the investigators are hoping to investigate the synergistic effects of rasagiline and exercise; the investigators' hypothesis is that there will be a positive synergistic effect, and that exercise will augment the effectiveness of rasagiline in treating Parkinson's symptoms.