View clinical trials related to Parkinson's Disease.
Filter by:This study is being conducted to assess the impact of folate and L-methylfolate on the progression of Parkinson's. The investigators are specifically looking for the effect of these nutritional supplements in Parkinson's patients who have an antibody that effects their body's utilization of folate. An antibody is a protein produced by the body's immune system to recognize foreign substances. Normally, people do not have an antibody that prevents folate from working properly in the brain but it appears that some people may have such an antibody. Folate is an important vitamin that takes part in many critical cell functions so an antibody that prevented it from entering the brain properly could cause or worsen certain neurological disorders like Parkinson's. The results of this preliminary study will help determine whether it is reasonable to proceed with further study of any of these supplements for the treatment of Parkinson's. Patients interested in participating will have a blood test to see if they have folate antibodies. Patients with the antibody will be eligible to further participate in the study. The investigators will measure the effects of folate and L-methylfolate on Parkinson's disease by measuring the change in your Parkinson's disease symptoms over three months of treatment. The investigators will also be looking at the blood of some individuals who do not have Parkinson's. This is called a control group and will allow us to compare how common the folate antibody is in the general population compared with the Parkinson's population.
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.
Tolerability and Efficacy of Spheramine will be evaluated after operative implantation (Stereotactic Intrastriatal Implantation) in patients with advanced Parkinson's Disease
Delayed colonic transient time secondary to a multi-degenerative process is the most likely cause of constipation in idiopathic PD. Since lubiprostone demonstrated its ability to accelerate colonic transit time in healthy volunteers in addition to activating the chloride channels in the intestinal cells, it has the potential to improve constipation in patients with PD with no subsequent adverse events on the control of the neurological manifestation of PD. So we hypothesize the following: 1. Lubiprostone will improve ratings on the Bristol stool form scale (BSFS) in patients with PD induced constipation compared to baseline.(primary) 2. Lubiprostone will increase the number of spontaneous bowel movements (SBM) per week, compared to baseline. (secondary) 3. Lubiprostone will improve health related quality of life in subjects with PD induced constipation. ( secondary)
The purpose of this study is to determine whether treatment of H. pylori (an infection of the stomach) improves treatment effectiveness in patients with Parkinson's disease and motor fluctuations.
The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and efficacy of AAV-GAD gene transfer into the subthalamic nucleus (STN) region of the brain. This study involves the treatment of subjects with medically refractory Parkinson's disease (PD). The gene transfer product, a disabled virus with a gene called GAD, will be infused into the STN bilaterally using stereotactic surgical techniques. The overall goal of this approach is to normalize the activity of the STN and reduce the motor symptoms of PD. Because the change in UPDRS demonstrated a positive outcome, the sham surgery subjects from the blinded portion of the study will be invited to crossover into the Open-label Arm portion of the study. The Open-label Arm will further evaluate the safety and efficacy of AAV-GAD gene transfer into the subthalamic nucleus (STN) region of the brain.
The purpose of this study is to test the effects of carbidopa/levodopa/entacapone compared to the effects of immediate-release carbidopa/levodopa on non-motor symptoms of end-of-dose wearing off in persons who have Parkinson's disease.