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Neuroplasticity in Parkinson's Disease

Plasticity of Motor Systems in Early Stage Parkinson's Disease

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05286736
Enrollment
26
Registered
2022-03-18
Start date
2021-03-01
Completion date
2026-08-25
Last updated
2026-09-18

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

Conditions

Parkinson, Parkinson Disease

Keywords

Parkinson's

Brief summary

The purpose of this project is to increase our understanding of the early state and temporal evolution of neuroplastic changes in the cortex and subthalamic nucleus (STN) of people with PD, and the relationship of these changes to the emergence and expression of PD motor and non-motor signs. Neurophysiological biomarkers derived from this work may be important for the early detection and prediction of progression of disease. They can also provide the means to assess the efficacy of interventions designed to prevent or slow disease progression.

Detailed description

This project will use neuroimaging (7T MRI: structural, diffusion and rest-state functional MRI), from Dr. Noam Harel's protocol IRB# STUDY00008096, and non-invasive brain stimulation (TMS: PAS. SAI) techniques to quantify structural and functional changes in brain function. The TMS experiment will use a Magstim Bistimn 2002 transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) unit and standard figure-of-eight coil (70 mm diameter) to deliver stimulation on the surface of the scalp. Stimulation will be delivered using either a single pulse or with a paired-pulse protocol (two stimuli, through the same TMS coil at inter-stimulus intervals of 50 or 80 ms). All surface EMG signals will be pre-amplified within the sensor and sent wirelessly via blue-tooth connection to a Delsys data collection system. Quantitative assessments of motor function (gait, gait initiation, reactive balance, bradykinesia, repetitive alternating movements, rigidity, stop-signal reaction time), and neuropsychological function will used to assess behavioral status at baseline and 30-36 months later.

Interventions

DIAGNOSTIC_TESTNeuroimaging

This project will use neuroimaging (7T MRI: structural, diffusion and rest-state functional MRI) and non-invasive brain stimulation (TMS: PAS. SAI) techniques to quantify structural and functional changes in brain function.

DIAGNOSTIC_TESTQuantitative assessments

Quantitative assessments of motor function (gait, gait initiation, reactive balance, bradykinesia, repetitive alternating movements, rigidity, stop-signal reaction time), and neuropsychological function

Sponsors

University of Minnesota
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
CASE_CONTROL
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

Participants with PD * Diagnosis of idiopathic PD, as determined by a movement disorders neurologist in accordance with the PD Society Brain Bank diagnostic criteria * Not receiving levodopa or dopamine agonist to treat PD (at baseline) * Able to ambulate independently without the use of an assistive device (e.g. cane) for 50 meters Healthy Controls * Age- (+/- 3 years) and sex-matched to participants with PD * Able to ambulate independently without the use of an assistive device (e.g. cane) for 50 meters

Exclusion criteria

* Dementia diagnosis and/or a University of California Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent (UBACC) score and MacCAT-CR score indicating impaired capacity to consent * History of musculoskeletal disorders that significant affect movement of lower or upper limbs as determined at the time of enrollment * History of bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder or major depressive disorder * Other significant neurological disorders that may affect participation or performance in the study * Implanted DBS or other neurosurgeries to treat PD * Pregnancy Additional

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in volume of Subthalamic NucleusBaseline, 30-36 monthsThe volume of the subthalamic nucleus is assessed using MRI and reported in millimeters cubed (mm\^3).
Change in fractional Anisotropy of Subthalamic NucleusBaseline, 30-36 monthsFractional anisotropy, measured using MRI, is a unit-less value between zero and one that describes the degree of anisotropy of water diffusion in a specified brain area. Higher values indicate a greater degree of anisotropy, while a score of zero indicates isotropic diffusion.
Change in cortico-STN ConnectivityBaseline, 30-36 monthsCortico-Subthalamic nucleus connectivity is measured using MRI and reported as a z score (unitless).
Change in paired Associative Stimulation-Motor Evoked Potential (PAS-MEP)Baseline, 30-36 monthsMotor evoked potential is measured as the amplitude of change in target muscle electrical activity following transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and reported in units of millivolts (mV).
Change in Mattis Dementia Rating Scale 2 (DRS-2)Baseline, 30-36 monthsThe DRS-2 consists of 24 items, rated on a scale from 0 to 6. Item scores are combined into five subscales: attention (8 items), initiation/perseveration (11 items), construction (6 items), conceptualization ( 6 items), and memory (5 items). These five subscale scores are summed to calculate a total score ranging from from 0 to 144 points, with lower scores indicating worse performance due to dementia.
Change in Rey Complex Figure and Matrix Reasoning of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - IVBaseline, 30-36 months
Change in Stroop Color Word TestBaseline, 30-36 months
Change in Wisconsin Card Sorting TestBaseline, 30-36 months
Change in Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Verbal Fluency SubtestBaseline, 30-36 months
Change in Brief Visuospatial Memory Test - Revised (BVMT-R)Baseline, 30-36 months

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Sep 19, 2026