Active clinical trials for "Parkinson Disease"

To compare the effect of pramipexole on depressive symptoms in early and advanced PD patients To evaluate the course of depressive symptoms measured with UPDRS Part I (mentation, behavior and mood) and with HADS-D under pramipexole treatment To investigate whether improvement of depressive symptoms is linked to improvement in motor function (UPDRS Part III)

This study will be conducted in an observational multiple-cohort design aimed at acquiring clinical, treatment, health status, and economic data. Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) will be enrolled.

This study will identify abnormalities of a protein called alpha synuclein that is found in the brain of patients with Parkinson's disease and related disorders to see if it can serve as a disease marker. There is currently no treatment that will cure or delay progression of Parkinson's disease. Thus, there is a need to find disease markers that can help diagnosis the disease, follow its progression, and monitor the effects of treatment. This study will examine and compare alpha synuclein from blood and cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord) of patients with Parkinson's disease, patients with variants of the disease, and healthy normal volunteers to determine differences in the protein that might serve as a disease marker. Patients with neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and Parkinson plus disorders (other diseases that are variants of Parkinson's disease) and healthy volunteers between 18 and 80 years of age may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a medical history, physical examination, neurological evaluation, and blood tests. A brain MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan is done if needed for diagnosis. All participants have a blood sample drawn and a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). For the lumbar puncture, a local anesthetic is given and a needle is inserted in the space between the bones in the lower back where the cerebrospinal fluid circulates below the spinal cord. A small amount of fluid is collected through the needle. The fluid is analyzed for specific proteins and chemicals that are leaked from the brain in various disease states and that cannot be measured in blood. Participation of healthy volunteers is completed after the blood draw and lumbar puncture. Patients with Parkinson's and related diseases return to the clinic once a year for 2 years for a repeat blood draw and lumbar puncture to follow changes in the alpha synuclein protein and to monitor disease progression. Patients with specific proteins of interest may also be asked to come for a repeat lumbar puncture 6 months after the first procedure.

This study will explore the risks and causes of Parkinson's disease, a chronic progressive nervous system disorder. Patients typically have tremors, muscle weakness and a shuffling gait. Patients with Parkinson's disease, their relatives and healthy volunteers may be eligible for this study. Candidates must be 18 years of age or older. Patients whose parkinsonism is due to a secondary cause, such as infection or injury, and healthy volunteers who have a first degree family member (parent, grandparent, child, sibling) with Parkinson's disease are excluded from enrollment. Participants are asked about possible symptoms they may have and about their general health. They provide a blood sample to obtain DNA for genetic analysis to look for genetic differences that might be related to risks for Parkinson's disease. White blood cells may be treated in the laboratory to grow a cell line, which provides a source of substances in the blood without having to draw samples repeatedly.

Background: - Freezing of gait (FOG) is a common and very disabling symptom in people with Parkinson s disease, significantly affecting their quality of life. It has been defined as a sudden break or block in the walking motion, or as an inability to start walking. Although certain neural connections or neurological processes might contribute to FOG, more research is needed to produce consistent findings. Researchers are interested in investigating brain function involved in FOG. Objectives: - To obtain more information on brain function in individuals with freezing of gait. Eligibility: Individuals between the ages of 45 and 80 who have been diagnosed with Parkinson s disease. Participants must be willing to go off their current Parkinson s disease medications for up to 12 hours at a time. Design: Participants will be divided into two groups: those who do have freezing of gait (more than about once a day) and those who have not experienced this symptom. The study will involve a screening visit (1 hour) and a study visit (2 hours). During the screening visit, participants will be asked about medical history, and will have physical, neurological, memory, and walking tests. Participants should not take their Parkinson's disease medications for 12 hours before the study visit. Participants who cannot come to the clinic safely without their medications will be allowed to stay in the hospital overnight before the visit, and should bring their medications to the study in order to take them as soon as needed after the study. Participants will be asked to perform several tasks before the imaging study: (1) walking 10 yards back and forth down a hallway, (2) walking 10 yards back and forth while following horizontal lines on the floor, (3) walking 10 yards back and forth while listening to a metronome, and (4) being pushed back and forth in a wheelchair. After participants perform the actual tasks, participants will be asked to imagine performing the tasks and fill out questionnaires about how well they can imagine the tasks. Participants will be monitored with a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan while imagining the four tasks they have just performed.

Patients with Parkinson's disease have low levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is responsible for motor function and normal physical activity. Patients with Parkinson's disease typically suffer from tremors, rigid muscles, stooped postures, and walk with a shuffle. The drug levodopa acts as a replacement for dopamine and has been has been used effectively for over 30 years as treatment for Parkinsons disease. Because of its effectiveness, levodopa has been used to distinguish Parkinson's disease from other conditions that may resemble Parkinson's disease. Traditionally, levodopa has been given as a pill. In this study, researchers would like to inject levodopa directly into a vein (intravenous) in order to diagnose cases of Parkinson's disease. This method provides immediate results and allows doctors to adjust the dose of levodopa very carefully. Because the intravenous method of giving levodopa is less practical than oral medication, it is not an available alternative for the routine treatment of Parkinson's disease. However, it may be useful for faster diagnosis of the disease and for determining effective doses of oral medication.

Retrospective study to evaluate the effect of a remote cognitive-rehabilitative intervention during the Covid outbreak in subjects with Parkinson's disease.

The primary aim of the study will be to examine Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) correlates, of physical activity (PA) participation and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Parkinson's disease participants.

This is a multi-centre, single-blinded, randomized, controlled trial for PwPD (people with Parkinson's Disease) to compare (i) OPTIM-PARK II (a novel personalized treatment based on the latest published research evidence and results from our extensive development work undertaken in OPTIM-PARK I) and routine care with (ii) routine care alone. The research team will provide a personalized list of available resources to the routine care arm at the end of the trial. The trial aims to recruit 60 PwPD and their carers (n=60) in the UK. This trial took place in 4 countries (Denmark, Norway, Spain and UK) but only Spain and UK included control groups, data collection in these two countries started in October 2022, after the iterative phase of the trial. At the screening visit participants will be asked whether they would also be willing to take part in an additional qualitative study. A subgroup of participants will be selected from those that have indicated a willingness to take part in the qualitative study. Also, at the screening visit participants will be asked whether they have a carer. Having a carer is not a pre-requisite for PwPD being recruited into the trial. It is likely that some PwPD in the trial may not have a suitable carer. Where one is available, they will be invited to join the trial: if there is more than one, the main family carer, as identified by the PwPD, will be approached.

The aim of the study is to assess the clinical outcome in patients with Parkinson's disease treated with directional deep brain stimulation (dDBS). The patients have been selected for the dDBS treatment by their treating neurologist. The study is a registry-based follow-up study.