Parkinson's Disease
Conditions
Keywords
Parkinson's Disease, Positron Emission Tomography, Memantine, NMDA antagonists, Cerebral Blood Flow, Cerebral Metabolic Rate of Oxygen
Brief summary
Purpose of study: To investigate whether the NMDA antagonist Memantine has a substantial effect of brain metabolism in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), using Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Background: Disturbances in brain metabolism is thought to contribute to degeneration of neurons in brain of PD patients. Production of toxic oxygen radicals and presence of too much excitatory neurotransmitter (glutamate) due to over activity is involved. These factors can theoretically be alleviated by memantine. Hypothesis: Memantine decreases metabolism in areas in PD brain known to be over-active. Decreases in cerebral blood flow and oxygen metabolism in these areas will be the consequence and this can be detected by PET.
Interventions
DRUGmemantine (drug)
Sponsors
Lundbeck Foundation
University of Aarhus
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
50 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Parkinson's Disease (British Brain Bank Criteria) * Age 50-70y
Exclusion criteria
* Tobacco use * Any serious medical conditions (Heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, endocrinological disorders etc) * Metal implants contraindicating MR scan * Drug use affecting the central nervous system * Psychiatric disorders * Head trauma or any disorders of the head, skull or brain * Drug addiction or use of any kind of illegal substance affecting the central nervous system * Pregnancy
Countries
Denmark
Outcome results
None listed