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Parkinson's DiseaseEarly Phase 1NCT01085968

Cognitive Rehabilitation in Parkinson's Disease

A Early Phase 1 study testing PC based training in people with Parkinson's Disease, run by VA Office of Research and Development.

Completed

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

Official record
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Trial summary

We are testing a computer game-style rehabilitation program for people with Parkinson's disease (PD). People with PD often have difficulty with motor planning, such as initiating or starting movements. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 55 to 75 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Parkinson's Disease
What is being tested?
PC based training
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
54 participants
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
Jul 2010to Aug 2015
Phase
Early Phase 1
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

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 55 to 75 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Clinical diagnosis of PD dominant on the right side with a Hx of response to dopamine replacement.

Who cannot join

  • Contraindication to MRI
  • History of stroke or significant head trauma
  • Significant vision impairment
  • Hx of brain surgery or claustrophobia
  • Medication change <4 weeks
  • Atypical PD
Show all 11Show fewer
  • Severe tremor
  • Presence of motor fluctuations or dyskinesia
  • Significantly impaired limb or joint function
  • Significant memory impairment
  • Depression or daytime sleepiness

About this study

Official title: PC-based Rehabilitation of Motor Planning Deficits in Parkinson Disease

We are testing a computer game-style rehabilitation program for people with Parkinson's disease (PD). People with PD often have difficulty with motor planning, such as initiating or starting movements. We believe that our program will improve performance on a movement initiation task as well as on activities of daily living, such as walking, preparing a meal or opening a medicine bottle. We will measure brain function using functional MRI before and after training to identify brain areas that are involved in improved performance. If effective, computer based training will be an inexpensive treatment for motor planning deficits in PD that is free from side effects and easy to administer to a large number of patients.

Read the detailed description

Our approach is to use PD-based adaptive training to improve performance on IG movement initiation in patients with PD. We have three aims, 1) to systematically evaluate cognitive rehabilitation in people with Parkinson's disease (PD), 2) to examine the neural mechanisms subserving cognitive rehabilitation in PD and 3) to assess the ecological validity of cognitive rehabilitation in PD. We will focus on a single aspect of cognitive function, the decision to initiate a movement. Movements can be internally generated (IG) or externally cued, and motor deficits in PD are typically linked to IG movements. The protocol is designed to drive beneficial neuroplastic changes using a paradigm similar to those that have shown promising results in traumatic brain injury patients. In addition, we will use fMRI to measure activity in underlying basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits. Finally, because the goal of any research regarding the pathophysiology of disease is to improve the lives of patients with the disease, behavioral and neuropsychological measures will be correlated with fMRI measured functional abnormalities before and after training. Improvement in the initiation of movement has the potential to dramatically improve daily functioning including reducing falls, improving language production and improving proficiency of activities of daily living.

Being tested
PC based training
Keywords
Parkinson's disease, Cognitive deficits, fMRI, neuro rehabilitation, Age Matched Controls
Medical subject headings
Parkinson Disease, Cognition Disorders

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • PC based trainingBehavioural

    Also called training

    Subjects sit at a computer and type a string of numbers that appears on the screen. As performance improves (# correct), the strings of numbers get longer. They are then instructed to repeat the string from memory. Performing these key entries from memory is a test of internally generated movement initiation.

Study groups in NCT01085968
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
PD SubjectsExperimentalPD subjects who undergo to PC-based neurorehabilitation intervention. This intervention will train research subjects to improve movement initiation in response to visual stimuli.
Receives: Behavioral: PC based training
Control SubjectsActive comparatorAge matched controls who undergo to PC-based neurorehabilitation intervention. This intervention will train research subjects to improve movement initiation in response to visual stimuli.
Receives: Behavioral: PC based training

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Reaction Time and Variability for Movement Task

    Before and after computer training outcome measures: left, right, bimanual external cue reaction time; left, right, bimanual external cue error; left, right, bimanual internally generated reaction time; left, right, bimanual internally generated error for four-digit trials.

    Measured: time of enrollment and 2 months following enrollment (before and after training)

Secondary outcomes (4)
  1. Neuropsychological Measures of Cognitive Function, Including Reaction Time and Time to Completion

    Modified Emory Functional Ambulatory Profile (mEFAP); mobility test Task 1: 5 meter walk on hard surface; timed. Task 2: 5 meter walk on carpeted surface, timed. Task 3: Timed up and go; rise from chair, walk 3 meters, walk back, sit down in chair, timed.

    Task 4: Obstacle course, similar to the Timed up and go, with 2 obstacles to be stepped over while walking forward and coming back; timed.

    Task 5: Ascend and descend 5 steps of stairs; timed.

    Measured: time of enrollment and 2 months following enrollment (before and after training)

  2. Task Errors and Variability

    Left, right and bimanual errors in external cue and internally generated tasks for four-digit trials

    Measured: time of enrollment and 2 months following enrollment (before and after training)

  3. Functional Dexterity Test (FDT)

    Functional Dexterity test (FDT): a motor dexterity measurement for hands. Task: Pick up and flip wooden pegs on a 4x4 pegboard in a zig-zag pattern; timed. Task is performed 2 times per hand Modified Task: Interchange 2 columns of of pegs (4 pegs each side) simultaneously. No flipping is required.

    5 second penalty to time score for 1.) using the pegboard to help with flipping and 2.) supinating of the hand; per occurrence. 10 second penalty to time score for dropping a peg, per occurrence.

    Measured: time of enrollment and 2 months following enrollment (before and after training)

  4. Symbol Digit Modality Test (SDMT)

    Symbol Digit Modality Test (SDMT): Participants are given a key of numbers (1-9) corresponding to symbols for reference.

    Task: Participants are given a page of symbols and are instructed to say aloud the number corresponding to each symbol on the page.

    This task is timed for completion and the score is reported as the number of symbol to number matching correct in 90 seconds.

    Measured: time of enrollment and 2 months following enrollment (before and after training)

Timeline

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

  1. First posted12 Mar 2010 (estimated)
  2. Study startJul 2010
  3. Primary completionAug 2015
  4. Study completionAug 2015

Resources

More details

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

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Early Phase 1
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
54 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01085968
Sponsor's protocol ID
E7185-R
Status last verified
Aug 2016
First submitted
10 Mar 2010
Last updated
11 Oct 2016
Data monitoring committee
No
Individual data sharing
Yes: De-identified individual participant data will be available upon request.

Publications

  • Disbrow EA, Russo KA, Higginson CI, Yund EW, Ventura MI, Zhang L, Malhado-Chang N, Woods DL, Sigvardt KA. Efficacy of tailored computer-based neurorehabilitation for improvement of movement initiation in Parkinson's disease. Brain Res. 2012 May 3;1452:151-64. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.02.073. Epub 2012 Mar 9.

    PubMed 22459048

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Early Phase 1 study testing PC based training in people with Parkinson's Disease, run by VA Office of Research and Development.

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 1 inclusion and 11 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 11 Oct 2016. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

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.

What does this phase mean?

Early Phase 1 (sometimes called Phase 0) studies give a very small amount of a treatment to a few people, mainly to see how the body handles it.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 11 Oct 2016). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

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.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Reaction Time and Variability for Movement Task (time frame: time of enrollment and 2 months following enrollment (before and after training)). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT01085968, which also lists 1 linked publication.

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 11 Oct 2016.

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