View clinical trials related to Parkinson's Disease.
Filter by:In this proposal the investigators have three Specific Aims using human patient populations as model systems; 1) identify a role for the Basal Ganglia (BG) in perceptual decision making; 2) determine whether the Basal Ganglia contribute to decision making under conditions of visual uncertainty; 3) determine whether the cerebellum plays a role in perceptual decision-making under conditions of visual uncertainty. The investigators designed experiments using healthy humans and humans with diseases known to affect the Basal Ganglia and the cerebellum, Parkinson's Disease, dystonia and non-dystonic cerebellar damage. With this approach the investigators will test the following hypotheses: 1) Patients with Parkinson's Disease and dystonia will have more difficulty than healthy controls making perceptual decisions when faced with sensory uncertainty; when sensory information is certain, patients will show improved decision-making but will still be impaired relative to healthy humans. Hypothesis 2: If ambiguous sensory information is aided by prior information, patients with Parkinson's Disease and dystonia will be unable to use the prior (bias/memory) information to inform their decisions. Hypothesis 3: Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) of Basal Ganglia structures will improve the ability of patients to use prior information to inform their decisions when faced with sensory uncertainty. Hypothesis 4: Both cholinergic and dopaminergic medical therapies will improve the ability of patients to use prior information to inform their decisions. Hypothesis 5: Patients with non-dystonic cerebellar damage will be similar to healthy controls in performance of a perceptual decision making task in conditions of visual uncertainty. The overarching framework of this application is that the same mechanisms (D1 striatal synaptic plasticity) that operate in reward learning play a role in learning and using stimulus priors in a perceptual decision-making task when faced with uncertainty. Because Parkinson's Disease and dystonia share deficits in striatal circuitry, the patient deficits on this task will be similar. Because non-dystonic cerebellar patients do not have dysfunction of striatal circuits, they will show no deficits in the ability to use stimulus priors to guide choices in uncertain conditions. In the event these patients do show deficits, this is will provide evidence for an unexplored role for the cerebellum in perceptual decision-making.
The purpose of this study is to assess the ability of CJH1 to increase the sensitivity of dopamine receptors and thereby reduce symptoms of Parkinson's Disease.
This program aims to understand the role of the subthalamic nucleus in the control of the movement in healthy humans and patients with Parkinson's disease, how the STN dysfunction contributes to akinesia and how the STN stimulation improves motor signs in PD patients .
The aim of this study is to compare two physical therapy training consisting of gait training that are distinguished by one being associated with tasks that require handling of the main executive functions, performed by individuals with Parkinson's Disease. The investigators hypothesis is that the experimental group (EG), which hold gait training with higher cognitive demands (dual-task condition), will make improvements in the parameters measured (functionality of gait and cognitive ability) to a greater extent compared to the control group (CG), which hold gait training without executive tasks (single-task condition).
The aim of this study is the development and implementation of a new protocol of a physical therapy training, based on a gait training associated with executive tasks, for treatment of individuals with Parkinson's Disease. The hypothesis is that this group of patients who will carry out training of this study protocol will show improvement in measured parameters (functionality of gait and cognitive ability), which allows this protocol to be improved and published as a proposal of physiotherapeutic treatment.
About 300 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have been successfully treated by deep brain stimulation (DBS) during the last 10 years in Hadassah. In most of the patients the site of stimulation is the subthalamic nucleus (STN). Recent studies by our group and others have demonstrated that the STN is divided into motor and non-motor areas. The investigators have recently shown that electrophysiological mapping of the STN during the surgery can differentiate motor and non-motor areas of the STN. Existing methods of adjustment of DBS parameters aim at amelioration of the motor signs and therefore with inactivation of the STN motor territory only. Although the DBS parameter setting is believed to influence the mental and cognitive states, there is no data that correlates stimulation parameters with mental and cognitive state. In addition, DBS parameter setting is also believed to influence important verbal functions which are partially related to motor, mental and cognitive states, but no data correlates the verbal function with the DBS stimulation parameters. The investigators hypothesize that the cognitive areas of the STN have distinct electrophysiological properties similar to our findings with the limbic / mental areas of the STN. The investigators further hypothesize that specific stimulation of these cognitive areas can influence the cognitive state and thus treatment with cognitive-adjusted DBS can improve the cognitive symptoms of PD. In this project, the investigators intend to map the motor, emotional and cognitive areas of the STN using neuronal (single units) responses to emotional voices and cognitive tasks and to identify the emotional and cognitive spectral signature of the STN single unit activity using spectral analysis and neuronal responses to emotional voices and cognitive tasks. In addition the investigators intend to find the neuronal signature of speech and to find the correlation between motor, mental and limbic electrophysiology to speech. The investigators also intend to investigate the motor, emotional and cognitive processing of PD patients by manipulating the stimulation of the STN. The proposed study will combine neural recording, stimulation and psychological and cognitive tests to shed new light on processing in the basal ganglia, as well as to provide better treatment for PD patients.
Background: - Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an approved surgery for certain movement disorders, like Parkinson's disease, that do not respond well to other treatments. DBS uses a battery-powered device called a neurostimulator (like a pacemaker) that is placed under the skin in the chest. It is used to stimulate the areas of the brain that affect movement. Stimulating these areas helps to block the nerve signals that cause abnormal movements. Researchers also want to record the brain function of people with movement disorders during the surgery. Objectives: - To study how DBS surgery affects Parkinson s disease, dystonia, and tremor. - To obtain information on brain and nerve cell function during DBS surgery. Eligibility: - People at least 18 years of age who have movement disorders, like Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, and dystonia. Design: - Researchers will screen patients with physical and neurological exams to decide whether they can have the surgery. Patients will also have a medical history, blood tests, imaging studies, and other tests. Before the surgery, participants will practice movement and memory tests. - During surgery, the stimulator will be placed to provide the right amount of stimulation for the brain. Patients will perform the movement and memory tests that they practiced earlier. - After surgery, participants will recover in the hospital. They will have a followup visit within 4 weeks to turn on and adjust the stimulator. The stimulator has to be programmed and adjusted over weeks to months to find the best settings. - Participants will return for followup visits at 1, 2, and 3 months after surgery. Researchers will test their movement, memory, and general quality of life. Each visit will last about 2 hours.
This observational study aims at identifying gene modifiers of Parkinson Disease (PD) and of treatment response and adverse events of antiparkinsonian drugs. Six hundred PD patients will be followed annually for up to 5 years. A biological collection will be associated with a full clinical assessment of motor and non motor symptoms, medical and treatment history, environmental factors. The association between candidate gene polymorphisms and disease or treatment complications will be analyzed.
The Parkinson's Genetic Research Study (PaGeR), headed by Dr. Cyrus Zabetian, is searching for genes that increase the risk of developing Parkinson's disease (PD) and related disorders. The study is a joint effort by neurologists and researchers across the United States and is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. The coordinating center for PaGeR is located at the University of Washington and the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle.
Parkinson´s disease (PD) diagnosis is based upon clinical examination. Although imaging has helped doctors to identify many diseases, it still does not add too much information for the diagnosis of Parkinson´s disease. The investigators are going to perform a large sample study including PD patients, essential tremor and healthy volunteers in order to evaluate if MRI can help in the diagnosis. Our hypothesis is that fractional anisotropy (FA) in the caudal portion of substantia nigra is decreased in PD patients.