Active clinical trials for "Parkinson Disease"

To study the success of Oligodendrocyte progenitor cell culture project in Rajavithi Hospital to identify an unlimited clone human neuronal progenitor stem cells from the human brain in the Biomolecular Research Center. This study aims to produce the reproductive clone of neuronal development protocols and advance projects. Neuronal cells such as pyramidal cells, oligodendrocyte, and dopaminergic neuron differentiation protocol/projects for treatment of Alzheimer's disease, Multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease respectively in next phase of clinical trials.

The overall aim of this observational study is to investigate the impact of COMT inhibition on homocysteine metabolism, vascular physiology and correlates of neurodegeneration in PD patients with certain COMT genotype. It is designed to evaluate effect size of Hcy lowering to secondary outcome parameters. Assessment of outcome parameters will be rater-blinded or computer-based.

Background: Parkinson Disease (PD) is a nervous system disorder that affects movement. Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter in the brain. As PD progresses, there is less and less dopamine in the brain. Researchers think there may be a relationship between differences in attention and dopamine in people with PD. Objective: To learn if people with PD that is worse on one side also have differences in how much attention they pay to the two sides of space on their left and right. Eligibility: English-speaking, right-handed people age 35-80 with PD. Design: Participants will be screened with medical and neurological history and exam, and medicine review. Participants will have 1 study visit. It will last 7-8 hours. They will stop taking their Parkinson medicine 12 hours before the visit. Participants will complete questionnaires. Participants will do tasks on a computer screen. They will judge the middle of lines, react to stimuli, and search and identify items that appear on the screen. Participants may have functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to take pictures of the brain. During the MRI, participants will lie on a table that slides in and out of the MRI scanner. While inside the scanner, they will look at a cross on a screen, relax, and think about nothing. Participants will undergo prism adaptation. They will sit in front of a board while their chin rests on a support. They will point to 1 of 2 dots on the board while they wear prism glasses that shift their vision to the left or right....

The term perceptual awareness refers to subjective experience... or the phenomenology associated with the processing of a sensory stimulus. The term metacognition refers to our ability of introspection, knowledge and control of our own cognitive processes. The objective of this research is to establish the contribution of the basal ganglia and thalamus to the perceptual awareness and meta-cognition, using deep brain stimulation coupled with electroencephalography.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a rechargeable Deep Brain Stimulation as an adjunctive treatment for reducing some of the symptoms of advanced, levodopa-responsive Parkinson's disease that are not adequately controlled with medication. This is the first observational study for the use of the BRIO™ rechargeable constant current device, using a lead with an active electrode tip for deep brain stimulation in Parkinson subjects. The current study was designed to conform to normal medical practices, taking into consideration the current day economic constraints, while assessing the best set of circumstances for the successful sustained reduction of some of the symptoms of advanced, levodopa-responsive Parkinson's disease that are not adequately controlled with medication.

This study evaluates the differences in cognitive function between healthy older adults, older adults with mild Alzheimer's type dementia and older adults with Parkinson's disease and if there are differences in valence assessment and activation that produce them a mood induction task. Subjects are assessed using neuropsychological tests and then a mood induction task based on movie clips is applied.

The aim of this randomized controlled pilot trial is to assess the impact of different gait rehabilitation programs on the level of physical activity and gait in daily life in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Two groups of 25 patients with PD will benefit from one of two gait training programs (treadmill vs. nordic walking), 3 times a week for 12 weeks. Activity level and number of steps will be remotely recorded over 7 days before, at the end, 3 and 6 months after the end of the program. Quality of life will be recorded at each time point. The impact of the gait programs on the patients' level of daily activity will be examined, comparing the changes brought about by the two programs, taking into account the modulating influence of age and cognitive function. Gait under conditions of daily life will be compared to gait parameters collected in the laboratory.

This research is being done to develop a unique matching process for caregivers of persons living with dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal degeneration, or other dementia syndromes. Dementia caregivers often assume greater caregiving burden than do non-dementia caregivers, and the caregiving duration tends to be longer. Many caregivers do not have the adequate support they need. Peer-to-peer support has been shown to improve quality of life, increase use of services, improve caregiver health, and reduce hospitalizations in the person they are caring for. This study will assess a technology platform and matching process for the purpose of peer-to-peer emotional support aimed at improving overall wellbeing in dementia care partners/caregivers.

The etiology of many neurodegenerative diseases is unknown. A few studies have suggested the role of infection in the gastrointestinal tract in the etiology and pathogenesis of neurological diseases such as idiopathic Parkinson. For example, infection with Helicobacter pylori has been suggested to play a role in Parkinson disease. In addition, bacterial pathogens such as spirochetes and bacterial products such as cyanobacterial toxins have been speculated as the contributing factors in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The effect of microbial composition of the gut in the pathogenesis of ALS is suspected. The difference in the bacterial profile of the gut has been documented in diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and obesity. The goal of this IRB protocol is to create a human tissue bank and to obtain patients' demographic information for future investigation of the role of bacterial pathogens and the role of gut flora composition in the development of neurodegenerative diseases including but not limited to ALS, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become the primary surgical therapy for the treatment of motor symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), and for essential tremor (ET). Although an effective and relatively safe procedure with expanding indications, opportunities exist for the optimization of the current procedure. The investigators therefore propose, in a group of patients undergoing DBS surgery for the treatment of PD or ET, to use a combination of high-field imaging modalities, intraoperative electrophysiology, external sensor interfaces, and computational modeling, to gather information on the utility of using these techniques to optimize DBS electrode placement and programming.