AzTrials
AzTrials

Parkinson's DiseaseNCT00026598

Effect of Stimulus Rate on Cognitive and Motor Activity in Young Subjects, Elderly Subjects, and Patients With Parkinson's Disease

An observational study of Parkinson's Disease, run by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate how changes in the brain associated with Parkinson's disease influence the control of motor and thinking speed. There is disagreement over whether patients with Parkinson's disease are slow in thinking as well as movement. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Any ageHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Parkinson's Disease
How many people
90 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Oct 2001to Nov 2003
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages Any age
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Imaging methods (e.g., structural MRI) may be included as a part of the pre-study evaluation. PD patients should be at a relatively early stage of the disease and must be devoid of any other neuropsychiatric symptoms, especially dementia. To assure this, they are to be rated by UPDRS (motor sub-scale) and standard neuropsychological batteries (e.g., mini-mental test).
  • Thirty PD patients with age 40 and higher will be recruited. Patients may be male or female. Patients will be asked to withhold any medication that can influence central nervous system (e.g. levodopa) at least 8 hours prior to the examination. They will also asked to abstain from alcohol for 24 hours before the study.
  • Sixty normal volunteers ranging from 21-75 will be included. Normal volunteers will be recruited from people who are registered as HMCS Normal Volunteers. Patients would be referred from the HMCS Clinic. All subjects participating in MR studies should have a valid Clinical Center Medical Record Number. Procedures for the fMRI experiment will follow the Standard Operating Procedures of the HMCS Neuroimaging group.

Who cannot join

  • PD patients younger than 40 years will be excluded from the study since they are considered to be young-onset PD and have slightly different characteristics from typical idiopathic PD. Normal subjects younger than 21 years old will also be excluded.
  • Patients with MRI findings consistent with organic brain lesions such as brain tumors, stroke, trauma or AVM's will be excluded.
  • Patients with progressive neurological disorders other than PD will be excluded.
  • Patients with a history of significant medical disorders such as cancers, or requiring continuous treatment with drugs other than antiparkinsonian medication, will be excluded.
  • Subjects who have any contraindications to MRI will be excluded from the fMRI part of the study. We will not scan pregnant women because safety of high magnetic field to fetus is not established. Therefore, we will administer a urine pregnancy test for any female subjects of childbearing potential prior to functional MRI scan.
  • Patients not capable of giving informed consent will be excluded.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

    Bethesda, Maryland, 20892

Other trials in United States

About this study

The purpose of this study is to investigate how changes in the brain associated with Parkinson's disease influence the control of motor and thinking speed. There is disagreement over whether patients with Parkinson's disease are slow in thinking as well as movement. This study may provide a new framework to explain the relationship between motor and cognitive aspects of human behavior and help to clarify the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease.

There are two parts to the study: behavioral tests and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). All participants will be asked about their medical history, have a physical examination, and complete a questionnaire. They must not take regular medications, including levodopa and dopamine agonists, for 8 hours prior to the study.

Read more

The behavioral study involves computer-generated neuropsychological tasks, including hand movements, imagination of movements, and mental calculations. Response will be recorded and evaluated. Electrodes may be placed on the participant's skin to measure surface electromyogram (EMG).

The fMRI study involves MRI scanning in which motor and thinking tasks are performed. Electrodes may be placed on the skin to monitor muscle activity.

Thirty patients, ages 40 and up, with early-stage Parkinson's disease will be recruited. Sixty normal volunteers ages 21-75 will be included as well for comparison.

Read the detailed description

A high-level of motor control often requires complex processing of sensory information. Such a cognitive aspect of motor control is supposed to share underlying neural components with non-motor, cognitive operations. The present study is aimed to clarify the similarity and difference between cognitive processing for motor control and non-motor, cognitive processing, especially in terms of the speed of processing. From this standpoint, patients with Parkinson's disease who manifest motor slowing as well as possible cognitive slowing will provide an interesting model to explore similar control mechanisms of speed for motor and non-motor behavioral control. Using psychophysical observations, we will try to clarify normal and diseased control of motor and cognitive speed. Furthermore, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we will explore the neural correlates underlying control of motor and cognitive speed in normal brains as well as pathologic brains. Blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal changes measured by fMRI, as an index of the activity of a neural population, are expected to reveal underactivity or compensatory overactivity in the functionally impaired brain areas responsible for slowing of movement, thinking, or both. This study may provide a new framework to explain the relationship between motor and cognitive aspects of human behavior and help to clarify the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease.

Keywords
Basal Ganglia, Cerebral Cortex, Functional Neuroanatomy, Bradykinesia, Bradyphrenia, Parkinson's Disease, Parkinson Disease, PD, Healthy Volunteer, HV, Normal Control
Medical subject headings
Parkinson Disease, Hypokinesia

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted12 Nov 2001 (estimated)
  2. Study startOct 2001
  3. Study completionNov 2003

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Enrolment
90 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00026598
Sponsor's protocol ID
020024
Other IDs
02-N-0024
Status last verified
Nov 2003
First submitted
10 Nov 2001
Last updated
4 Mar 2008
Results posted
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Parkinson's Disease, run by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 6 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 4 Mar 2008. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 4 Mar 2008.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in