Active clinical trials for "Parkinson Disease"

To investigate how levodopa and acupuncture affect fatigue and muscle function in people who suffer from Parkinson's disease. Subjects may choose to participate in levodopa or acupuncture part, or both. Study procedures include an exercise protocol, transcranial magnetic stimulation (a non-invasive type of brain stimulation that cause small muscle twitch), a blood draw, and personality surveys.

This study (https://pdrisk.ninds.nih.gov) will determine if people who have risk factors for Parkinson disease (PD) have biomarkers (objective ways to measure a disease process) that show that the disease process is actually going on, and if people who have abnormal biomarkers go on to develop PD during several years of follow-up. Biomarkers of Parkinson disease (PD) might identify people who are healthy now but may develop the disease later in life. Healthy volunteers and people who have certain risk factors for developing PD who are between 18 and 70 years of age may be eligible for this study. People with the following risk factors are included: Family history of PD Loss of sense of smell Fall in blood pressure when standing up REM behavior disorder (a type of sleep disturbance) Participants undergo the following tests and procedures: Screening examination Medical and neurological history and physical examination Tests or rating scales for movement, sense of smell, mood, attention, fatigue, pain, and thinking. Measurement of blood pressure and pulse rate while lying down and then standing up Blood draw for genetic testing Inpatient testing at the NIH Clinical Center for 2-3 days, including: Measurements while blowing against a resistance Measurements of blood pressure and pulse rate Blood draws for levels of various chemicals PET and MRI scanning Lumbar puncture (spinal tap) Electrocardiogram Skin electrical conduction test (test of sweat production) Skin and core temperature measurements Transcranial ultrasound (sound-wave test of the head) Follow-up testing (up to five visits in 18-month intervals) to repeat some of the tests listed above, excluding the genetic testing and spinal tap

The "core" of the neuronal lesions in Parkinson's disease (PD) is the progressive degeneration of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra. A significant loss of dopamine neurons and the presence of Lewy bodies (a pathological hallmark in PD) in enteric neurons have also been reported in that disease. These lesions may explain the frequent gastro-intestinal dysfunction observed in PD patients. Alterations of other neuronal populations within the enteric nervous system (ENS) as well as the mechanisms responsible for these lesions (type of cell death, alteration of neuromediators gene expression) remain to be identified. The aim of the study is to demonstrate that alterations of the human ENS in PD can be evidenced by bowel biopsies and to determine whether they are correlated to the severity of motor disability and to gastrointestinal dysfunction.

The purpose of this study is to investigate similarities and differences in the neural pathways of depressed Parkinson's patients, non-depressed Parkinson's patients, and healthy controls using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and neuropsychological assessment.

The ultimate goal of this proposal is to reduce dyskinesia in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients. Dyskinesias are abnormal movements, often caused by the standard treatment for PD symptoms, levodopa. In this study, we will test if biochemical devices are equal to the clinical rating system in measuring dyskinesias.

The main goal of the GENEPARK consortium is to employ innovative haemogenomic approaches to determine gene expression profiles specific for genetic and idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. These gene expression signatures will be utilised clinically as non-invasive diagnostic tests for PD. The sensitivity of the newly developed diagnostic test will be determined by extensive validations on an independent cohort of PD patients, whereas the specificity will be assessed by testing patients with atypical parkinsonisms, including multiple system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy and diffuse Lewy body disease. In order to test the specificity of the diagnostic set in other disorders that affect basal ganglia, Huntington's disease and dopa responsive dystonia patients will be analysed. The second objective of the proposal is to determine correlations between gene expression signatures and different stages of PD and thus provide the basis for early diagnosis and monitoring of disease progression. These changes in blood gene expression will be correlated with alterations detected by neuroimaging in the brain of PD patients. Such combinations of molecular and morphological markers of disease may ultimately facilitate the selection and monitoring of neuroprotective therapies for PD. Finally, GENEPARK aims to develop new bioinformatic software tools for selection of genomic biomarkers using microarray data. A set of established computational tools will be applied and novel methods, some of them based on mechanistic modelling of the neurodegenerative diseases, will be developed in order to study the advantages and limitations of the different methodologies. With special emphasis on the careful clinical selection of patients and sufficient power regarding patient numbers, as well as extensive quality control and validation of the data, GENEPARK aims to develop a standardised approach to development and validation of haemogenomic biomarkers of disease.

Background: Approximately 40% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have cognitive impairments. There is a lack of consensus as to the extent to which psychiatric symptoms, depression, age at disease onset, disease duration, and medication is related to the type and severity of cognitive impairment. This discrepancy can in part be caused by the lack of distinction between patients with different motor symptoms and disease severity. Objective: To identify the extent to which psychiatric symptoms, depression, age at disease onset, disease duration, and medication is related to the severity and type of cognitive dysfunction in patients with idiopathic PD categorized according to motor symptoms and disease severity. Methods: the population of patients with PD in the old county of Aarhus is described on the background of medical records, and stratified in accordance to age, sex and cardinal symptoms. Through proportional allocation a sample of a minimum of 50 patients with PD is drawn from the population. The patients and 30 healthy matched controls will undergo comprehensive neuropsychological assessment including tests of language, memory, executive function, and visuospatial function. Furthermore, all participants will be screened for depression (Geriatric Depression Scale) and psychiatric symptoms (Neuropsychiatric Inventory and Symptom Checklist). The patients will be categorized in accordance with their motor symptoms via cluster analysis for the purpose of analyzing the effect of psychiatric symptoms, depression, and age of disease onset, disease duration, and medication on cognition.

Introduction: The Parkinson is one of the most common degenerative diseases of the central nervous system , mainly characterized by resting tremor , rigidity, akinesia and postural instability , also featuring the autonomic modulation of heart rate , which can lead to reduced frequency variability heart . Some activities may modify the modulation , including rehabilitation using virtual reality. Method: The research is interventional type , quantity and prospective, where volunteers were chosen for inclusion and exclusion criteria and divided into two groups , Control and Parkinson's, where they underwent 24 sections with virtual reality physiotherapy three times a week . Analysis of the autonomic modulation of heart rate was performed before and after the rehabilitation program with the frequency meter Polar brand. Statistical analysis was performed in 5.2 Biostat program with Shapiro- Wilk test to verify the normality , followed by t test to compare the data.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the different aspects of sexual function among adults with Parkinson Disease to develop a treatment and address sexual problems as a routine part of diagnostic workup and therapeutic planning.

The objective of the study is to assess the effect of motor, non-motor and genetic factors on the progression of Parkinson's disease as well as its impact on complications rates. A large sample of Mexican subjects with Parkinson's disease attending several referral centers will be included. Data collected will include disease severity and motor scales, non-motor scales as well as genotyping for monogenic forms of the disease. Assessments will be performed every 6 months for two years.