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Can a ketone drink reduce the severity of symptoms of Parkinson’s disease?

Supplementation with a ketone ester drink to alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ISRCTN
Registry ID
ISRCTN64294760
Enrollment
20
Registered
2018-12-31
Start date
2019-02-02
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2020-08-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Parkinson's disease Nervous System Diseases

Interventions

To ensure equal group sizes, participants will be block randomized to a ketone ester or placebo control group. Following a 2-week period during which baseline measurements will be taken (weeks -2 to 0

Sponsors

TdeltaS Ltd
Lead Sponsor

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Diagnosis of Parkinson's disease 2. Taking L-dopa 3. Hoehn and Yahr stages 1-2 4. Fluent in English 5. Capable of giving informed consent 6. Aged 40-80

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Communication impairments 2. Any disorder that the Chief Investigator deems may bias the study results or put the participant at risk

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
1. Overall symptom severity in the drug "off" state assessed using the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) at weeks 0 and 4 2. Daily activity and gait assessed using a continuous activity monitor (Axivity AX3) worn on the lower back by participants for 7 days before (weeks -2 to -1) and during (weeks 2 to 3) the intervention 3. Motor skills assessed using a smartphone application once a day 4. Olfaction assessed using the Sniffin’ Sticks 16-odor identification test at weeks 0, 4, and 6 5. Selective attention assessed using the Stroop color-word test at weeks 0, 4, and 6 6. Cognitive function assessed using the the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) at weeks 0, 4, and 6 7. Fatigue assessed using the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) survey over the phone once per week during a randomly-timed compliance call 8. Quality of life of participant assessed using the PDQ-39 questionnaire at weeks 0, 4, and 6 9. Quality of life of participant's carer assessed using the PDQ-Carer questionnaire at weeks 0, 4, and 6 10. Parkinson's disease-related sleep disorder assessed using the REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Screening Questionnaire (RBDSQ) at week 0.

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
1. Blood uric acid measured in a fasted state at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 6 2. Blood glucose measured in a fasted state at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 6 3. Blood fructosamine measured in a fasted state at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 6 4. Blood insulin measured in a fasted state at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 6 5. Blood lipids measured in a fasted state at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 6 6. Blood C-reactive protein (CRP) measured in a fasted state at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 6 7. Blood inflammatory cytokines measured in a fasted state at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 6 8. Compliance assessed by calling patients at random once per week to ask them when they last consumed the study drink and to request that they blindly (we will mask the monitor) measure their own blood ketone levels by fingerstick 9. Participant subjective comments on their experiences taking the drink assessed using a consumer-style questionnaire at week 4 Uric acid is a major circulating antioxidant that tends to be depleted in the blood of patients with Parkinson’s disease. Participants’ glucose, fructosamine, insulin, and lipids levels will afford insight into the quality of their carbohydrate metabolism and relative cardiovascular risk. This is relevant because diabetes and heart disease are also age-related diseases and often present as comorbidities alongside Parkinson’s disease. CRP and inflammatory cytokines are markers of systemic inflammation, a phenomenon characteristic of, and involved in the development of, many age-related diseases.

Countries

United Kingdom

Contacts

Public ContactNicholas Norwitz
nicholas.norwitz@dpag.ox.ac.uk+44 (0) 7444 054375

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026