Methylphenidate for the Treatment of Gait Impairment in Parkinson's Disease

Completed · Phase 4 · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Parkinson's Disease, Gait Impairment

In brief

The purpose of this research study is to examine whether Methylphenidate (MPD) can result in improvement of gait (walking) in a population of Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients whose main disability is freezing of gait. MPD (Ritalin®) is a drug which can excite or stimulate certain systems of the body that control motor function. This drug is FDA approved for the treatment of attention hyperactivity disorder, a condition unrelated to PD. The researchers hypothesize that daily treatment with a tolerable daily oral dose of MPD will improve gait velocity, stride length, cadence, and decrease freezing of gait, 3 months from treatment initiation in patients with moderately advanced PD, whose gait impairment is an important source of disability despite optimized antiparkinsonian treatment.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00526630

Run by

University of Cincinnati

People needed

23

Starts

2007-12-01

Expected to finish

2009-10-01

Last updated by the study team

2015-04-22

Who can join

Age: 35 and older, up to 85. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Patients with a definite diagnosis of Parkinson's disease for at least 5 years.
• Patients with mild to severe gait disturbance.
• Patients on a stable dose of anti-parkinsonian medications that will not be expected to require medication adjustments.
• Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of 25 or greater.

You may not qualify if…

• Patients with musculoskeletal disorders such as severe arthritis, post knee surgery, hip surgery, or any other condition that the investigators determine may impair assessment of gait.
• Previous treatment with DBS (deep brain stimulation).
• Those with history of stroke.
• Those with cerebellar, vestibular, or sensory ataxia.
• Concurrent use of, or within two weeks from discontinuing, MAO inhibitor drugs (selegiline, rasagiline).
• Women of childbearing potential.

Where it is running

• University Neurology-Movement Disorders Clinic — Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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