Parkinson DiseaseNCT02904837
Mental Practice Combined With Physical Practice to Improve the Gait Performance of People With Parkinson's Disease
A study testing Experimental training in people with Parkinson Disease, run by University of Sao Paulo General Hospital at 1 site in Brazil.
Trial summary
Among the impairments associated to Parkinson's disease, gait disturbance is one of which that has the most negative impact on the independence in daily living activities and quality of life of people living with Parkinson's disease. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 65 to 80 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Parkinson Disease
- What is being tested?
- Experimental training
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 20 participants
- Where
- 1 siteBrazil
- Study dates
- Mar 2015to Dec 2017
- Phase
- Interventional
- 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 65 to 80 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Older adult
Who may be able to join
- diagnosis of Parkinson's disease according to the United Kingdom Brain Bank criteria;
- in stage 2-3 of the disease evolution according to the Hoehn and Yahr;
- treated with levodopa or its synergists;
- capable to walk independently indoors without aid;
- referring 5 years of education or more.
Who cannot join
- presence of other neurological (excluding PD), orthopedic or cardiopulmonary problems;
- visual and auditory deficiency uncorrected;
- dementia [assessed by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), cut-off 26];
- depression [according to the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), cut-off 6];
- declined imagery capacity [according to the Revised Movement Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ-R) cut-off 10].
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Among the impairments associated to Parkinson's disease, gait disturbance is one of which that has the most negative impact on the independence in daily living activities and quality of life of people living with Parkinson's disease. Despite the considerable amount of research, we have no consensus about the most efficient physiotherapeutic approach to improve the gait disturbance. Mental practice is considered an efficient strategy to improve the motor performance in healthy individuals and people with stroke. However, there is scarce evidence about its therapeutic results to improve the gait performance in people living with Parkinson's disease. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of gait mental practice associated to physical practice to improve the gait performance in people living with Parkinson's disease.
Read the detailed description
Background: Among the impairments associated to Parkinson's disease, the gait disturbance is one of which that has the most negative impact on the independence in daily living activities and quality of life of people living with Parkinson's disease. Despite the considerable amount of research, we have no consensus about the most efficient physiotherapeutic approach to improve the gait disturbance. Mental practice is considered an efficient strategy to improve the motor performance in healthy individuals and people with stroke. However, there is scarce evidence about its therapeutic results to improve the gait performance in people living with Parkinson's disease.
Objectives: To investigate the effects of mental gait practice associated with physical practice to improve the gait performance of people living with Parkinson's disease.
Design: Parallel, prospective, double-blind, multicentre randomized clinical trial.
Setting: Brazilian Parkinson Association.
Participants: Twenty-two people living with Parkinson's disease in stages 2-3 of disease evolution according to Hoehn and Yahr Classification.
Interventions: The participants will be randomly allocated in an experimental group and a control group. Both groups will perform 10 individual training sessions, two times per week, for five weeks. The training sessions consist of four blocks of mental practice intercalated with four blocks of physical practice of gait under different conditions. The only difference between the groups will be the content of mental practice blocks: the experimental group will perform mental practice of gait while the control group performs non-gait mental practice.
Randomization: Participants will be randomized by ClinStat software into one of two groups: Experimental Group (EG), which will perform gait mental practice; and Control Group (CG), which will perform the non-gait mental practice.
Statistical analysis: The training effects for each primary and secondary outcome measure will be analyzed for the two training conditions (i.e., control and experimental) at the four assessment time points (i.e., pre-intervention, 7 days post-completion and at 30 and 60-day follow-up) using a mixed-design ANOVA with training as the between-group factor and the assessment time point as the within-group factor. The effect sizes (ES) will be calculated for all comparisons at alpha = 0.05. A Tukey HSD post-hoc test will be used for multiple comparisons and p-values below 5 % will be considered as statistically significant.
- Conditions
- Parkinson Disease
- Being tested
- Experimental training, Control training
- Keywords
- Randomized clinical trial, Parkinson's disease, Mental practice, Gait
- Medical subject headings
- Parkinson Disease
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Experimental trainingBehavioural
Each block of MP consists of 5 mental walking attempts with 10 imagined steps. Participants, seated comfortably, eyes closed, will be asked to imagine themselves walking as of a first-person perspective, without any overt physical movement, in four different conditions: habitual speed, as fast as possible, overcoming obstacles and memorizing a name of a specific medication.
Each block of PP consists of 5 physical walking attempts, with 10 steps. Participants will be asked to walk in 4 different conditions: habitual speed,as fast as possible, overcoming obstacles and memorizing a name of a specific medication.
Control trainingBehavioural
Each block of MP consists of 5 mental walking attempts with 10 imagined steps. Participants, seated comfortably, eyes closed, will be asked to imagine themselves seated appreciating a beautiful landscape as of a first-person perspective, without any overt physical movement, in four different contexts: in a carriage, in a hot air balloon, in a boat and in a zepelin.
Each block of PP consists of 5 physical walking attempts, with 10 steps. Participants will be asked to walk in 4 different conditions: habitual speed,as fast as possible, overcoming obstacles and memorizing a name of a specific medication.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Experimental Group (EG) | Experimental | The Experimental training (ET) consists of 10 sessions with 4 blocks of MP (GMP) intercalated with 4 blocks of gait physical practice (GPP), under single (ST) and dual-task (DT) conditions. Receives: Behavioral: Experimental training |
| Control Group | Active comparator | The Control training (CT) consists of 10 sessions with 4 blocks of MP (nGMP) intercalated with 4 blocks of gait physical practice (GPP), under single (ST) and dual-task (DT) conditions. Receives: Behavioral: Control training |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Postural Instability and Gait Difficulty Score
Postural Instability and Gait Difficulty Score (PIGD): This recommended rating scale for evaluation of gait alterations in PD is based on 5 Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) items relevant to gait and postural instability (items 13-15, 29, and 30). The 13-15 items are based on gait performance according to PPD perspective, while 29 and 30 items are based on the motor test. It is a recent rating scale that has been used in PD, evaluated independently, which has adequate clinimetric characteristics.
Measured: up to 3 months
Six-minute Walk Test
The six-minute walk test (6-MWT) is a timed recommended clinically based test in which participants are asked to walk for 6 minutes, in their habitual speed, as much distance as possible. Interruptions for resting are permitted if necessary. The 6-MWT has demonstrated adequate test-retest and interrater reliability and minimal detectable change of 82 meters in PD. It may be a good predictor of the ability to independently walk outside safely.
Measured: up to 3 months
Dynamic Gait Index
The balance during the eight gait related activities is scored in this test. These include quality of walking speed change, going around and over obstacles and stair walking, as well as the number of steps required for a pivot turn.
Measured: up tp 3 months
30-second dual task gait
It measures the maximal walking distance reached in 30 seconds under single task, i.e., without another concurrent task, and dual task, i.e., with a concurrent cognitive task. The cognitive task consists of speaking as many words as possible, starting with a specific character (F, S or A), presented at the beginning of test.
Measured: up tp 3 months
Secondary outcomes (2)
Trail Making Test
This test is constituted with two-timed parts: Part A, which involves a visual-scanning task where the participant is required to draw lines sequentially connecting consecutively numbered circles (1-25) randomly arranged on a page as fast as possible. Part B, which assesses cognitive flexibility, where the participant is asked to connect the same number of circles in an alternating sequence of numbers and letters (1, A, 2, B, etc.).
Measured: up to 3 months
39-item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire
This scale assesses the health-related quality of life, i.e., the impact of an illness and/or treatment on patients' perception of their status of health and on subjective well-being or satisfaction with life. It evaluates 39 parameters in eight groups of issues (mobility, ADL, emotional well-being, stigma of the disease, back in the next, cognitive, communication and bodily discomfort).
Measured: up to 3 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted19 Sep 2016 (estimated)
- Study startMar 2015
- Primary completionOct 2017
- Study completionDec 2017
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Parkinson DiseaseStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of Sao Paulo General HospitalThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Investigator, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 20 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Sao Paulo General Hospital
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Maria Elisa P Piemonte, PhD, Principal investigator, Department of Physioterapy , Communication Science&Disorders, Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02904837
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- Pikel 01
- Status last verified
- Sep 2016
- First submitted
- 9 Sep 2016
- Last updated
- 19 Sep 2018
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 19 Sep 2018. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Mental Practice Combined With Physical Practice to Improve the Gait Performance of People With Parkinson's Disease
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02904837
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Pikel 01
- Conditions
- Parkinson Disease
- Keywords
- Randomized clinical trial, Parkinson's disease, Mental practice, Gait
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 20 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Sao Paulo General HospitalUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Mar 2015 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Oct 2017 (actual)
- Study completion
- Dec 2017 (actual)
- First posted
- 19 Sep 2016 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Among the impairments associated to Parkinson's disease, gait disturbance is one of which that has the most negative impact on the independence in daily living activities and quality of life of people living with Parkinson's disease. Despite the considerable amount of research, we have no consensus about the most efficient physiotherapeutic approach to improve the gait disturbance. Mental practice is considered an efficient strategy to improve the motor performance in healthy individuals and people with stroke. However, there is scarce evidence about its therapeutic results to improve the gait performance in people living with Parkinson's disease. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of gait mental practice associated to physical practice to improve the gait performance in people living with Parkinson's disease.
Detailed description
Background: Among the impairments associated to Parkinson's disease, the gait disturbance is one of which that has the most negative impact on the independence in daily living activities and quality of life of people living with Parkinson's disease. Despite the considerable amount of research, we have no consensus about the most efficient physiotherapeutic approach to improve the gait disturbance. Mental practice is considered an efficient strategy to improve the motor performance in healthy individuals and people with stroke. However, there is scarce evidence about its therapeutic results to improve the gait performance in people living with Parkinson's disease.
Objectives: To investigate the effects of mental gait practice associated with physical practice to improve the gait performance of people living with Parkinson's disease.
Design: Parallel, prospective, double-blind, multicentre randomized clinical trial.
Setting: Brazilian Parkinson Association.
Participants: Twenty-two people living with Parkinson's disease in stages 2-3 of disease evolution according to Hoehn and Yahr Classification.
Interventions: The participants will be randomly allocated in an experimental group and a control group. Both groups will perform 10 individual training sessions, two times per week, for five weeks. The training sessions consist of four blocks of mental practice intercalated with four blocks of physical practice of gait under different conditions. The only difference between the groups will be the content of mental practice blocks: the experimental group will perform mental practice of gait while the control group performs non-gait mental practice.
Randomization: Participants will be randomized by ClinStat software into one of two groups: Experimental Group (EG), which will perform gait mental practice; and Control Group (CG), which will perform the non-gait mental practice.
Statistical analysis: The training effects for each primary and secondary outcome measure will be analyzed for the two training conditions (i.e., control and experimental) at the four assessment time points (i.e., pre-intervention, 7 days post-completion and at 30 and 60-day follow-up) using a mixed-design ANOVA with training as the between-group factor and the assessment time point as the within-group factor. The effect sizes (ES) will be calculated for all comparisons at alpha = 0.05. A Tukey HSD post-hoc test will be used for multiple comparisons and p-values below 5 % will be considered as statistically significant.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (investigator, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Experimental Group (EG) | Experimental | Behavioral: Experimental trainingThe Experimental training (ET) consists of 10 sessions with 4 blocks of MP (GMP) intercalated with 4 blocks of gait physical practice (GPP), under single (ST) and dual-task (DT) conditions. |
| Control Group | Active comparator | Behavioral: Control trainingThe Control training (CT) consists of 10 sessions with 4 blocks of MP (nGMP) intercalated with 4 blocks of gait physical practice (GPP), under single (ST) and dual-task (DT) conditions. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 65 to 80 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- diagnosis of Parkinson's disease according to the United Kingdom Brain Bank criteria;
- in stage 2-3 of the disease evolution according to the Hoehn and Yahr;
- treated with levodopa or its synergists;
- capable to walk independently indoors without aid;
- referring 5 years of education or more.
Key exclusion criteria (5 listed)
- presence of other neurological (excluding PD), orthopedic or cardiopulmonary problems;
- visual and auditory deficiency uncorrected;
- dementia [assessed by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), cut-off 26];
- depression [according to the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), cut-off 6];
- declined imagery capacity [according to the Revised Movement Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ-R) cut-off 10].
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Experimental trainingEach block of MP consists of 5 mental walking attempts with 10 imagined steps. Participants, seated comfortably, eyes closed, will be asked to imagine themselves walking as of a first-person perspective, without any overt physical movement, in four different conditions: habitual speed, as fast as possible, overcoming obstacles and memorizing a name of a specific medication. Each block of PP consists of 5 physical walking attempts, with 10 steps. Participants will be asked to walk in 4 different conditions: habitual speed,as fast as possible, overcoming obstacles and memorizing a name of a specific medication. | Behavioural | Experimental Group (EG) |
| Control trainingEach block of MP consists of 5 mental walking attempts with 10 imagined steps. Participants, seated comfortably, eyes closed, will be asked to imagine themselves seated appreciating a beautiful landscape as of a first-person perspective, without any overt physical movement, in four different contexts: in a carriage, in a hot air balloon, in a boat and in a zepelin. Each block of PP consists of 5 physical walking attempts, with 10 steps. Participants will be asked to walk in 4 different conditions: habitual speed,as fast as possible, overcoming obstacles and memorizing a name of a specific medication. | Behavioural | Control Group |
Primary outcome
Postural Instability and Gait Difficulty Score
Time frame: up to 3 months
Postural Instability and Gait Difficulty Score (PIGD): This recommended rating scale for evaluation of gait alterations in PD is based on 5 Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) items relevant to gait and postural instability (items 13-15, 29, and 30). The 13-15 items are based on gait performance according to PPD perspective, while 29 and 30 items are based on the motor test. It is a recent rating scale that has been used in PD, evaluated independently, which has adequate clinimetric characteristics.
Six-minute Walk Test
Time frame: up to 3 months
The six-minute walk test (6-MWT) is a timed recommended clinically based test in which participants are asked to walk for 6 minutes, in their habitual speed, as much distance as possible. Interruptions for resting are permitted if necessary. The 6-MWT has demonstrated adequate test-retest and interrater reliability and minimal detectable change of 82 meters in PD. It may be a good predictor of the ability to independently walk outside safely.
Dynamic Gait Index
Time frame: up tp 3 months
The balance during the eight gait related activities is scored in this test. These include quality of walking speed change, going around and over obstacles and stair walking, as well as the number of steps required for a pivot turn.
30-second dual task gait
Time frame: up tp 3 months
It measures the maximal walking distance reached in 30 seconds under single task, i.e., without another concurrent task, and dual task, i.e., with a concurrent cognitive task. The cognitive task consists of speaking as many words as possible, starting with a specific character (F, S or A), presented at the beginning of test.
2 secondary outcomes
Trail Making Test
Time frame: up to 3 months
39-item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire
Time frame: up to 3 months
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 19 Sep 2018.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Maria Elisa P Piemonte, PhD principal investigator
Department of Physioterapy , Communication Science&Disorders, Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Experimental training in people with Parkinson Disease, run by University of Sao Paulo General Hospital at 1 site in Brazil.
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 5 inclusion and 5 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 19 Sep 2018. 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 Brazil. 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.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Postural Instability and Gait Difficulty Score (time frame: up to 3 months). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
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 19 Sep 2018.