View clinical trials related to Parkinsonism.
Filter by:The PET tracer [F18]-FDDNP has a specific affinity for lesions containing tau protein. The study consists of two phases: - In the first (cross-sectional) phase it will be assessed the uptake of [18F]-FDDNP in 10 cases with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP, a tauopathy) en 10 with multi-system atrophy (MSA, a non-tauopathy), along with 20 individuals with Unclassifiable Parkinsonism, as previously defined in a European cohort study. - In the second (longitudinal) phase it will be prospectively followed the 20 unclassifiable patients (at 6, 12 and 18 months) by means of validated scales and accepted diagnostic criteria in order to try to correlate their eventual clinical diagnosis with baseline PET findings. On this basis, we endeavour to estimate the ability of this technique to detect in vivo underlying tau pathology in subjects initially unclassifiable on clinical grounds. We hypothesized that: 1. Patients with clinically definite PSP will present an increased uptake in basal ganglia, brainstem and cerebellum. 2. Patients with clinically defined MSA will not present specific uptake. 3. Part of unclassifiable patients with parkinsonism will present a pattern of uptake similar to patients with clinically defined PSP and this part along the clinical follow-up will be meet clinical criteria for diagnose of PSP
We are trying to identify factors associated with improved quality of life and fewer PD symptoms. We are attempting to identify practices, beliefs, and therapies used by individuals who report excellent quality of life, few PD symptoms, and reduced rates of progression. After agreeing to participate, we will ask participants to fill our questionnaires about their experience with PD, their health in general, along with their food intake every six months for five years.
The project is a prospective trial comparing Zeno/GAITRite and APDM® in a cohort of persons living with parkinsonian disorders. Ambulatory patients with a parkinsonian syndrome and who are able to provide informed consent will participate in the assessments. Outcome variables include selected gait and balance parameters such as cadence, gait-cycle, stride-length, stride-velocity, turning duration, turning steps, postural sway and anticipatory postural control. These parameters will be measured by the portable inertial sensors developed by APDM® and the Zeno/GaitRite.
This study is designed to determine if magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures can be used to diagnose and monitor the progression of Parkinson's disease (PD) while distinguishing between PD and parkinsonisms [conditions that are PD look-a-like diseases such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) or multiple system atrophy (MSA)] when combined with changes in certain proteins in body fluids that are related to iron (Fe).
Does use of the Mobilaser reduce freezing of gait (FOG) and stride reduction in patients with Parkinson's disease and Parkinsonism.
The investigators propose using DaTscan in patients with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and other neurodegenerative syndromes and disorders, to test several hypotheses - some confirmatory, and some novel. Such use will provide new data on the potential clinical and research utility of DaTscan in neurodegenerative diseases. The findings on DaTscan will be correlated with clinical diagnoses and other multimodal imaging studies (e.g., MRI, MRS, FDG-PET, and amyloid-PET) to enhance our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases.
The aim of this study is to develop and optimize methods to isolate, propagate and differentiate adult human neural stem cells from patients with degenerative neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease.
Parkinson's disease is diagnosed clinically, because biomarkers that may help in diagnosis and differential diagnosis are not yet available. Exhaled breath testing may yield a "breath-print" that can be used to distinguish healthy and diseased states.
Drug therapy of atypical parkinsonism is generally considered either ineffective or minimal 1. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find alternative therapies to treat atypical parkinsonian disorders. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive tool that modulates cortical excitability with minimal discomfort and holds therapeutic promise in treating neurological and psychiatric disorders. The basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits that are affected in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and Corticocbasal Ganglionic Degeneration (CBGD) are likely structurally and functionally segregated. The 'motor' circuit is implicated in parkinsonian akinesia and hypokinesia; a 'prefrontal' circuit is implicated in working memory and mood regulation, and linked with non-motor symptoms such as depression and apathy. In this proposal, we characterize motor and prefrontal network dysfunction in PSP and CBGD patients, and propose that high-frequency and low-frequency rTMS directed over separate motor and prefrontal cortical targets of each network may show specific and selective beneficial effects on motor vs. cognitive function in PSP and CBGD patients, respectively. Quantitative motor outcome measures include timed finger tapping tasks. Quantitative cognitive outcome measures comprise a visual analogue scale (VAS). If successful, this pilot study will provide proof of principle data to suggest potential benefits for rTMS in PSP/CBGD patients, and provide sufficient data and experience to support future PSP/CBGD studies that include the use of rTMS to investigate the pathophysiology of motor and non-motor features of PSP and CBGD patients.
Ataxia-Telangiectasia A-T is a neurodegenerative disorder of the cerebellum, manifesting with ataxia, as well as extrapyramidal features. Treatment of A-T is discouraging, since no treatment seems to change the course of disease, but improvement can be achieved by symptomatic treatment of the bothersome movement disorder . While various dopaminergic agents are occasionally used, reports of benefit are rather sparse and anecdotal. Amantadine, a well known drug used in influenza as well as movement disorder of Parkinson, has been proved to improve various other types of movement disorder as ataxia, chorea, dystonia, akinesia and attention span. The purpose of this study is to investigate weather amantadine sulphate improves ataxia and the movement disorder (bradykinesia, parkinsonism, dystonia, chorea), as well as the general well being in patients with A-T.