Active clinical trials for "Parkinson Disease"

-[18F]Fluoro-L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (18F-FDOPA) positron emission tomography (PET) is a imaging marker for presynaptic dopaminergic neuronal function. The decreased uptake of 18F-FDOPA in the posterior putamen is demonstrated in the early course of PD, and could differentiate early PD from healthy controls. The objective of this study is to investigate the evidence of presynaptic dopaminergic neuronal dysfunction in the preclinical stage of PD, which may be associated with HCV infection.

Parkinson's disease (PD) and Drug-induced Parkinsonism (DIP) can be clinically indistinguishable and DIP sometimes represents "unmasking of underlying PD. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship of underlying Parkinson's disease (PD) to the incidence and clinical outcome in DIP using non-motor assessments as a marker for nigrostriatal degeneration. Research Design: This is a nested case-control design to investigate risk factors associated with the development of DIP and persistent Parkinsonism after antipsychotic (AP) withdrawal (a potential clinical marker of underlying PD). Target enrollment is 45 subjects. Methodology: We will examine objective olfactory function (via objective olfactory testing), other non-motor symptoms of PD (via standardized validated questionnaires), and motor findings (via clinical exam and quantitative gait analysis) in: 1) DIP patients (30 subjects) compared to AP-treated patients without Parkinsonism (15 subjects) and 2) patients with persistent Parkinsonism compared to those whose symptoms resolve in the DIP cohort followed prospectively after a change in AP treatment. Additionally, in patients where it was performed clinically, we will evaluate dopamine transporter SPECT imaging (DaTI) as a marker of nigrostriatal integrity examining the ability of qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis to distinguish between pharmacologic and degenerative Parkinsonism. We will also measure serum uric acid and Apolipoprotein A1, two putative biomarkers in early PD, and examine their relationship with clinical and radiologic status.

Studies show that patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) have an increased risk of fracture, particularly hip fracture whose complications and postoperative mortality appear to be higher than in the general population. This increased risk of fracture is due partly to an increased risk of falling, and secondly to an impairment of bone tissue with lower bone mineral density (BMD). A meta-analysis concluded that patients with IPD have lower BMD than healthy controls. Prospective studies also showed rapid bone loss in these patients compared with controls. The association between low BMD and IPD seems dependent on the severity and duration of the disease even if some data are contradictory. Various mechanisms may explain this bone loss including weight loss, malnutrition and a low level of physical activity. However, enrollments in these studies are often weak and it is difficult to conclude on the real impact of these factors on bone loss in the IPD. The main objective of our study is to assess and prioritize from these various bone loss mechanisms. Bone assessment by "peripheral quantitative computed tomography" (pQCT) will also assess the impact of various risk factors on bone strength parameters. The prevalence of vertebral compression fractures in the IPD, at this day unknown can be evaluated. This study will also estimate the prevalence of vertebral compression fractures in the IPD.

The purpose of this study is to compare the onset time and severity of dyskinesia in amantadine or Dopamine agonist initial treated groups in Parkinson's disease.

This study will examine speech intelligibility of early parkinson's disease (PD) patients, early PD patients and first degree relatives. The investigators hypothesis that advanced PD patients will present decreased speech intelligibility more than early PD patients. Speech intelligibility of first degree relatives will be normal.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the segregation of the subthalamic nucleus into its motor and non-motor regions in patients with Parkinson's disease and healthy controls with the aid of ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging.

Parkinson´s disease (PD) diagnosis is based upon clinical examination. Although imaging has helped doctors to identify many diseases, it still does not add too much information for the diagnosis of Parkinson´s disease. The investigators are going to perform a large sample study including PD patients, essential tremor and healthy volunteers in order to evaluate if MRI can help in the diagnosis. Our hypothesis is that fractional anisotropy (FA) in the caudal portion of substantia nigra is decreased in PD patients.

The purpose of this study is to characterize and compare irregularities in dopaminergic function in fronto-subcortical circuits, between Parkinson's Disease patients (ON and OFF medication) and patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, by examining performance on cognitive tasks involving cognitive flexibility, decision-making, and attentional bias.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of genetic and environmental factors in the cause of Parkinson's disease.

The proposed work is based on the detection of a novel molecule for sensitivity to oxidative stress in humans in venous blood