Active clinical trials for "Parkinson Disease"

The present study is to examine the effects of a virtual reality based balance training using the Kinect sensor on postural stability and functional balance in individuals with Parkinson's disease.

With an increase of over 38% in neurological related hospital admissions between 2008-13, there are now over 12.5 million cases of individuals with neurological conditions in the UK. Following diagnosis of a neurological condition, there is often a period of adjustment to new life circumstances, with changes to relationships, ability to work and leisure activities. With a future often fraught with uncertainty, psychological difficulties such as Anxiety and Depression are common. It is estimated that following diagnosis of a neurological condition, up to 60% of individual's will experience mental health difficulties. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been gaining popularity in supporting those with neurological conditions. ACT is based on emotional acceptance and supporting individuals to live a valued life, despite ongoing symptoms. Research into the use of ACT with this population has found it to be effective in reducing levels of psychological distress and increasing psychological flexibility. With limited resources and an ever increasing desire to improve interventions offered to patients, services are now looking at new and innovative ways of offering increasingly effective and satisfactory treatments. Therefore, in early 2014, the author devised a six week ACT group intervention for adjustment following diagnosis of a neurological condition. The intervention provides a combination of ACT techniques, in addition to a space for group members to build relationships and share their difficulties, to help individuals increase acceptance of their difficulties and reduce psychological distress. Following an initial pilot, findings illustrated that participants' psychological distress reduced and psychological flexibility increased. Therefore, this research project aims to further evaluate the intervention under controlled conditions.

Parkinson's disease affects between 100'000 and 150'000 people in France. Drug therapy (L-Dopa and other drugs) is effective to improve motor symptoms but after an initial 'honeymoon period' lasting a few years, motor symptoms reoccur in most patients, impairing gait and walking. Spinal cord stimulation is currently an important therapeutic option in the treatment of neuropathic pain. Experimental and limited clinical data suggest that this technique might also be used to alleviate motor symptoms and improve walking in Parkinsons patients. This exploratory study aims at measuring the benefits of spinal cord stimulation on the walking capacity of a small number of Parkinsons patients who are not adequately improved by drug therapy alone.

While deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) is commonly used to reduce tremor, muscle stiffness, and bradykinesia in people with Parkinson disease (PD), preliminary studies suggest balance may worsen and falls may increase after STN-DBS. Walking speed, known to be reduced in PD, typically improves after surgery; however, other important gait qualities may not improve. Given the potential for worsening balance and gait and increasing falls after surgery, it is imperative that researchers explore interventions that complement the positive effects of STN-DBS and delay worsening of balance and gait. Physical therapy (PT) is reported to be effective in improving balance and walking in people with PD. However, there have been no studies to investigate how individuals with STN-DBS respond to PT. As such, it is unclear if exercise in the post-DBS population is safe, feasible, and effective. The purpose of this study is to examine the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of PT in people with PD with STN-DBS. The investigators hypothesize that PT will be safe and feasible for people with PD with STN-DBS. Further, the investigators hypothesize that those assigned to PT group will demonstrate improvements in balance and gait while those assigned to the control group will demonstrate no change or a decline in balance and gait.

The purpose of this study is to determine if droxidopa reduces fall risk by improving gait speed, kyphosis, and functional reach in individuals with Parkinson's disease.

Examining the feasibility and acceptability of the computer game based rehabilitation system for improving balance, gait and executive function in individuals with PD. This will involve a pilot case series intervention study of individuals with PD will be conducted.

The overall goal of this T2 translational research project is to pilot an interdisciplinary high-intensity group singing program to improve speech and swallowing in patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) and to explore the impact of this program on quality of life (QOL). This research has three specific aims: 1) Determine the effects of a high-intensity group vocal training program on vocal function and laryngeal structure; 2) Determine the transference of vocal training to laryngeal aspects of swallowing; 3) Determine the effect of patient-reported changes in Quality of Life (QOL) as the result of participation in a group vocal training program. Twenty patients with Parkinson Disease will be recruited from the Fresco Institute for Parkinson's & Movement Disorders to participate in a 12-week vocal training program. The program will train participants using maximum vocal function exercises targeting vocal deficits specific to PD. Choral singing therapy sessions will be conducted once weekly with daily home practice exercises based on principles that have been successful in other intensive PD vocal exercise programs.

To investigate the tolerability and safety of four multiple-dose regimens of BIA 6-512 (25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, and 150 mg 6 times daily) in healthy volunteers and to characterise the steady-state pharmacokinetic profiles of BIA 6-512 (25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, and 150 mg 6 times daily) in healthy volunteers.

This study will evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of DA-9701 with domperidone in patients with Parkinson's disease

Gait and balance disorders represent the main motor disability in advanced Parkinson's disease. These symptoms are less or unresponsive to levodopa treatment and are considered to be a contraindication for deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus. Falls and freezing of gait are responsible for high morbidity (fractures, residential health care) and increased significantly mortality. The pathophysiology of gait and balance disorders is still poorly understood, but recent data obtained in animals and humans suggest that a degeneration of cholinergic neurons of the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), within the mesencephalic locomotor region, could play a crucial role. In line with this hypothesis, low-frequency stimulation of the pedunculopontine area, thought to increase the activity of the remaining cholinergic PPN neurons, has been proposed to alleviate gait and balance disorders in advanced PD patients. Here, the efficacy of deep brain stimulation of the mesencephalic locomotor region will be tested in 12 PD patients in a randomized, double-blind, cross-over, controlled study.