Active clinical trials for "Parkinson Disease"

The purpose of this research study is to attempt to treat apathy in Parkinson's disease (PD) using high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the brain and to investigate the patterns of brain activation that may be involved in apathy. It is hypothesized that high-frequency rTMS of the left mid-dorsolateral frontal cortex will improve apathy in PD.

The purpose of this study is to establish the efficacy of 20 mg/day and 40 mg/day doses of istradefylline for reducing the mean total hours of awake time per day spent in the OFF state in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) treated with levodopa. Patients who meet entry criteria will be randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to double blind treatment with oral doses of 20 or 40 mg/day istradefylline or matching placebo. Patients will be treated for 12 weeks and will have interim visits and end of treatment visit to assess the efficacy and safety of istradefylline.

The study is designed to answer the question: will nicotine at doses that do not cause serious side effects, show feasibility in treatment of levodopa-induced dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease?

Few available drugs can slow the progression of neurodegenerative pathologies such as Parkinson's disease (PD). One of the recent hypotheses concerning the reduction of oxidative stress and neuron death features a harmful effect of iron, which may reach abnormally high levels in the substantia nigra (SN) pars compacta (iron overload has been seen in the substantia nigra in parkinsonian patients and in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) mouse model of PD). Iron overload is harmful because it reacts with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) produced during the oxidative deamination of dopamine, generating hydroxyl radicals which then damage proteins, DNA and phospholipid membranes and may be responsible for neuron death. The use of an iron chelator (clioquinol) produces a reduction in neuron death in the MPTP mouse model. In humans, a special, partially refocused interleaved multiple echo (PRIME) MR sequence has been used to study the relaxation time (T2*) and quantify iron overload in the SN of PD patients and the nucleus dentatus of patients with Friedreich's ataxia. T2* sequences have revealed a decrease in iron overload following treatment with the chelator deferiprone, in parallel with a clinical improvement in these patients. Furthermore, the very recent open label use of deferiprone in rare serious, systemic, neurological iron overload diseases (Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation (NBIA)) has revealed a clinical improvement after 6 months, with 2 case reports from our group and another from an Italian group (Forni et al., 2008). The safety of the low dosages of deferiprone (20 to 30 mg/kg/day) used in neurology appears to be much greater than for the high dosages (75 to 100 mg/kg/day in 3 doses) used in hematology to decrease post-transfusion iron overloads in thalassemia major. Hence, the investigators wish to evaluate the effect of treatment with an oral iron chelator which is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier (deferiprone) on iron overload in the SN(as assessed by the T2* sequence) with respect to the progression of clinical sign in PD. It is expected a 6-month course of deferiprone able to produce a moderate reduction in iron overload of the SN, associated with a drop in the motor handicap score. Depending on the risk/benefit balance determined in this initial pilot study, a larger, multicenter neuroprotection study could be envisaged.

Background: Studies about the effects of walking training with additional body load in Parkinson's disease (PD) are lacking. There is evidence that the increase of body load during treadmill walking improves reflex activity and leg extensor muscle activity, which are impaired in subjects with PD. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of treadmill walking training with additional body load on the ground reaction forces, spatiotemporal, and kinematic variables of the gait of subjects with moderate PD. Design: This study was an A1-B-A2 single-case. Setting: The evaluation and the training were conducted in a movement analysis laboratory, and at the rehabilitation unit of the University, respectively. Participants: Nine patients with PD (Hoehn and Yahr 2 through 3) and gait disturbances. Interventions: Phases A1 and A2 included 6 weeks of gait training on a treadmill with 10% increase of normal body mass. Phase B included 6 weeks of conventional physical therapy. Measurements: Measures included the ground reaction forces, spatiotemporal, and kinematic variables during overground walking, at baseline and after each phase.

To compare the efficacy of BF2.649 over placebo (12 week Double-Blind Phase) and assess the long term safety and the efficacy maintenance(9 months Open-Label Extension Phase) of BF2.649 in the improvement of excessive daytime sleepiness in patients diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

The purpose of this study is to generate long-term safety, tolerability and efficacy data for AFQ056 in patients who have participated in and completed any AFQ056 phase II study in PD-LID (Parkinson's disease, L-dopa induced dyskinesias).

In this first study of inhaled apomorphine in Parkinson's disease patients, the primary objective is to find the minimum efficacious dose of apomorphine that is useful in rescuing patients during 'off' periods. Safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of inhaled apomorphine will be assessed during the study.

A double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled trial of intravenous amantadine on gait freezing refractory to oral anti-parkinsonian medications in patients with Parkinson's disease. administration of IV amantadine or normal saline for 5 days, 2 times a day while keeping current oral anti-parkinsonian medications unchanged follow-up after administration of IV amantadine for 4 weeks allocation ratio of amantadine:normal saline is 2:1

This study sets out to determine the effect of exercise performed over a longer period of time (6 months), delivered using community facilities, on motor and non motor symptoms, health and well being in people with Parkinson's Disease.