Active clinical trials for "Parkinson Disease"

The gait symptoms are usually refractory to the dopaminergic agents and some other resolutions, i.e. repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) should be searched for in this regard. To study the impact of rTMS, investigators will adopt a domestically developed ambulatory recorder (PK-16CH EXG) for the concomitant recording of the electroencephalographic and electromyographic signals for PD patients when walking in the gait laboratory or when conducting leg dorsiflexion movement on sitting.

Introduction: In the recent past, medical training systems using virtual reality (VR) have been introduced to neurorehabilitation to train motor function deficits in patients. The usage of VR-based training systems is based on the evidence of neuroplasticity, which is responsible for recovery of patients suffering from motor dysfunction. Such systems are increasingly used to encourage purposeful limb movements in a VR environment and its efficacy has been found comparable with conventional therapeutic intervention. VR training systems, e.g. the YouGrabber® (YG), will increasingly also be used at home. Therefore, it is essential to integrate valid and reliable assessment tools to monitor the recovery process. Objectives: The aim of the clinical study is to evaluate the usability, feasibility and validity of the digital version of the ActionResearchArmTest (d-ARAT) using the YG system as a platform. Additionally, the feasibility and usability of the implementation of two rehabilitation measures that only recently became integral part of neurorehabilitation, e.g. Action Observation (AO) and Motor Imagery (MI), into the YG training software will be evaluated. Patients & methods: This observational study is designed as a single-arm trial for testing the assessment software including pre- to post rehabilitation comparison of a training involving AO and MI. Therefore, 75 adult patients with Parkinson's disease, MS, Stroke, traumatic brain injury or Guillain-Barré syndrome will be included. 30 out of the 75 patients will take part in the 4-week training on the enhanced VR-based system with a total of 16 training sessions of 45 min each. Primary outcomes will be the score on the System Usability Scale (SUS) and the ARAT as well as the d-ARAT scores. Secondary outcomes will be hand dexterity (Box-and-Block Test), upper limb activities of daily living (CAHAI) and quality of life (EQ-5D-5L). Hypothesis: The study was designed to evaluate the d-ARAT and the training software modules for the YG system. Currently AO and MI specific tasks are being integrated and the ARAT subscales will be implemented on the basis of the redesigned glove equipped with new sensors. The results are expected to give recommendations for necessary modifications. They might also contribute knowledge concerning the application of AO and MI tasks within VR training.

This study aimed to examine the relationship of quality of life with tremor severity and upper limb functionality in individuals with Parkinson's Disease. The differences between Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire, Nine-Hole Peg Test, grip and pinch strength values in the individuals with and without tremor in the study were investigated.

Postoperative delirium (POD) remains one of the most common neuropsychiatric complications after deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. The fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) has been shown to significantly correlate with prognosis of many diseases associated with inflammation, but the relationship between FAR and POD is unclear. The investigators aimed to investigate the association between POD and FAR in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients receiving DBS surgery. For this aim, the present study was conducted to provide a new method for the early recognition and perioperative management of delirium after DBS surgery in PD patients.

The overall goals of this proposed study are to investigate the behavioral and neurophysiological mechanisms of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) experiencing freezing of gait (FoG). More specifically, we aim to determine the behavioral changes in context-dependency and changes in corticomotor excitability associated with FoG.

Apathy can be defined as a quantitative reduction of voluntary or goal-directed behavior. So, the investigators propose a behavioral approach for assessing apathy, to obtain a quantifiable and objective signature of reduced goal-directed behavior by directly observing a patient in a real-life situation. ECOCAPTURE consists of a multi-step scenario in a functional exploration platform equipped with data acquisition system based on video and sensors that track a participant's behavior. The primary objective of this trial is to create a diagnostic tool for apathy, based on the video and sensors metrics. A secondary objective of this trial is to validate a new experimental task (ICM_APATHY_TASKS) to test independently three main presumed mechanisms of apathy (motivation, cognitive inertia and coupling between motivation and action). Another secondary objective aims to specify the pathophysiological mechanisms of apathy, corresponding to cognitive and behavioral processes, neural bases and neurohormonal mechanisms. The definition of pathophysiological mechanisms will allow the classification of apathetic patients (or several forms of apathy) and indicate which mechanism (s) best explains the apathy in a given patient.

More than 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease (PD). While the actual number of African American (or Black) patients with PD is unknown, it is clear that there are racial disparities in the access to health care, diagnosis, treatment and survival of PD. The lack of clear knowledge on the possibly lower PD prevalence among African Americans compared to Caucasians further calls for more research in this field. The University of Chicago Medicine is an ideal facility to study this topic, due to its location on the South Side of Chicago with a large African American (or Black) population. By analyzing the demographics, socioeconomics and clinical features of PD patients in our Center for Research Informatics in African American (or Black) patients compared to the Caucasians of similar geographical area, the investigators aim to work toward a better understanding of the unique features of PD in American American (or Black) population, which might help improve the healthcare among this population in the Chicago and possibly nationwide as well.

The objective of this study is to describe the evolution of hypodopaminergic syndrome in patients with Parkinson's disease.

The investigators are examining how aspects of daily function are perceived in persons with PD and in those who interact with them on a regular basis. If eligible, participants will receive a set of online questionnaires by email. The questionnaires will take about 1 hour to complete, and can be done at the participant's convenience. The investigators are looking for volunteers who have a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease without dementia (age 40 or older and proficient English speakers). If a spouse, family member, significant other or other close associate is available (age 18 or older, proficient English speakers), the investigators will send them questionnaires as well. There is no monetary or other compensation for this study. For more information, please contact the Vision and Cognition Laboratory at vcognition@gmail.com or 617-358-1377.

The study aims to identify genetic variants associated to Parkinson's disease through the analysis of exome-sequencing data of familial cases and controls. The identified variants will be used to generate a diagnostic tool for the identification of genetic risk profiles.