• PDtrials - Parkinson's Disease Clinical Trials
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Official Study Title: Cognitive  CognitiveRelated to mental activities having to do with perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning. Deficits in Parkinson Disease
Sponsor: University of California, Davis and University of California, San Francisco
Clinicaltrials.gov ID:
Study ID:

Summary

People with Parkinson’s disease (PD) often have difficulty with motor planning, such as initiating or starting movements. The goal of this study is to examine deficits in thinking and planning that occur with Parkinson's disease,  Parkinson's DiseaseA chronic, slowly progressive disease of the nervous system characterized by the combination of tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and stooped posture, among other symptoms. separate from the deficits in movement.

Brain function will be measured using functional MRI and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Functional MRI is used to measure where things are happening in the brain based on the amount of oxygen in the blood, and MEG is used to measure when things are happening based on tiny magnetic fields that are naturally generated when nerves are working. Using these tools we can measure the process of the brain conceiving, organizing and carrying out a sequence of events. It is important to study motor planning separate from movement because the development of treatments of PD originally focused on the more obvious problem of movement difficulties, not on cognitive difficulties. More must be known about cognitive deficits such as motor planning so that separate specific treatments of these deficits can be developed.

Study Phase

Not Applicable
What is a study phase?

Time Commitment

• Less than one month
• Volunteers will be asked to undergo two brain scans (about 2 two hours each on separate days) and some paper and pencil tests (about two hours on another day). Total time commitment is three two-hour sessions on three different days plus travel time.

Eligibility

• Minimum Age: 55
• Maximum Age: 75
• Gender(s) Accepted: Either
• Study is enrolling non-PD participants

Inclusion Criteria

• Clinical  ClinicalDealing with or based on observation and treatment of people, as opposed to basic science carried out in the laboratory or in animals. diagnosis of PD dominant on the right side.

Exclusion Criteria

• History of stroke or significant head trauma
• Significant vision impairment
• Medication change within the past four weeks (investigators can schedule around recent changes)
• Severe tremors
• Presence of motor fluctuations or uncontrollable, jerky movements (dyskinesia)  DyskinesiaTwisting, turning or other abnormal involuntary movement usually involving the arms, legs, trunk, and head. It is most commonly associated with long-term use of levodopa.
• Significantly impaired limb or joint function
• Significant memory impairment, depression or daytime sleepiness

Enrollment

Expected Enrollment: 46 (US)
Date Enrollment Began: Apr 2010
Date Enrollment Ends: Apr 2012
Last Updated Date: May 05 2011
Trial Post Date: May 19 2010
Website:

Primary Contacts and Locations

California

• Kim Russo
  Center for Neuroscience
  karusso@ucdavis.edu
  Phone: (530) 754-5022
  1544 Newton Ct.
  Davis, CA 95618
  USA
  
• Elizabeth A. Disbrow
  liz.disbrow@radiology.ucsf.edu
  Phone: (530) 752-4484
  1544 Newton Ct.
  Davis, CA 95618
  USA
  

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