Striatal and Extra-striatal Mechanisms of Falling in Parkinson's Disease

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00736671

Enrollment

Registered

2008-08-18

Start date

2006-07-31

Completion date

2010-08-31

Last updated

2016-03-04

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

Conditions

Parkinson's Disease

Brief summary

This research study will evaluate functions of memory, thinking, eye movements and walking and how these relate to the measurement of certain chemicals (acetylcholine and dopamine) in the brain using an imaging procedure called positron emission tomography (PET). You may know that the brain chemical dopamine, a neurotransmitter substance (a chemical messenger that nerve cells need to communicate with each other), is important for the brain to control movements and that the brain chemical acetylcholine may have functions related to mental concentration and attention. At the present time, the investigators have no clear information how these two chemicals in the brain of patients with Parkinson's disease are related to the risk of falling.

Detailed description

Although most research in PD has a focus on presynaptic dopaminergic denervation, new lessons may be learned by exploring to what extent alterations in non-motor and non-dopaminergic systems may play a role in the balance impairment in this disorder. This project is designed to evaluate striatal pre-synaptic dopaminergic, cortical, thalamic, and brainstem cholinergic, cognitive, and oculomotor mechanisms underlying the risk of falling and imbalance in PD. The proposed study will exploit advances in our center in the development of dynamic biomathematical modeling of electronic platform data, application of specialized cognitive and oculomotor assessments, and positron emission tomography (PET). This novel multi-system approach holds promise for understanding mechanisms of falling in PD beyond pre-synaptic dopaminergic nigrostriatal denervation.

Interventions

None listed

Study design

Observational model

CASE_CONTROL

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

50 Years to 85 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Subjects considered for inclusion will be female or male subjects either currently enrolled or eligible for care at the VA aged 50-85 years, or community volunteers. * The racial, gender and ethnic characteristics of the proposed subjects population reflect the demographics of the patient population of the VA. However, extra efforts will be made to recruit women and minorities (see table 5). * Children will be excluded from the study. * No

Exclusion criteria

shall be based on race, ethnicity, gender, or asymptomatic HIV status.

Countries

United States

Outcome results