Studying Automatic Movements in Patients With Parkinson's Disease

Completed

Conditions studied: Parkinson Disease

In brief

Parkinson's disease patients usually have difficulty making automatic movements. Automatic movements are movements people often make without conscious thought. The purpose of this study is to investigate regions of the brain that affect automatic movements and to understand the movements of Parkinson's patients. Investigators hope this knowledge will lead to better treatment for the disease. Thirty participants will be enrolled in this study. Each will give a medical history and undergo a brief physical exam. Participants will have two MRI scans, each lasting approximately 1.5 hours. During these scans, they may be asked to move their right or left hands or to remember some letters that they have been shown. Before undergoing the second scan, participants will be asked to practice the tasks until they can perform them correctly.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00063661

Run by

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

People needed

30

Starts

2003-06-01

Expected to finish

2005-05-01

Last updated by the study team

2008-03-04

Who can join

Age: any. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Thirty patients with PD will be included in the study.
• The diagnosis of PD is based on medical history, physical and neurological examinations, response to levodopa or dopaminergic drugs, and laboratory tests and MRI scans to exclude other diseases.
• Patients will be assessed with the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE). Only patients with mild to moderate motor disability (UDRS less than or equal to 40) and without cognitive impairment (MMT score greater than or equal to 25) will be investigated.
• Patients will be studied only after their medication has been withdrawn for at least 12 hours.
• All subjects participating in the study should have a valid Clinical Center Medical Record Number.
• The fMRI experiment will follow the standard operating procedures of the HMCS Neuroimaging Group.

You may not qualify if…

• Subjects with psychiatric disorders or severe motor disabilities will be excluded.
• Subjects with pacemakers, cardiac or neural defibrillators, intracranial aneurysm clips, intraorbital metallic structures, insulin pumps, cochlear implants, and other metallic objects will not be scanned.
• Women who are pregnant are excluded from MRI because the safety of the fetus in the presence of high magnetic fields is not established. Therefore, all women of childbearing potential will have a pregnancy test performed, which must be negative, before proceeding.
• Subjects under age 18 will be excluded.

Where it is running

• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) — Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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