Skip to content

Exercise and Plasticity in Parkinson Disease

Exercise and Plasticity in PD: Functional and Structural Evidence in the Cortex and the Spinal Cord

Status
UNKNOWN
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05786261
Enrollment
30
Registered
2023-03-27
Start date
2021-02-10
Completion date
2024-02-10
Last updated
2023-03-29

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

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Brief summary

We will study the effects of intensive rehabilitation in PD on plasticity with a multimodal approach. We will define first, whether exercise in PD restores the potentiation of the motor cortex to normal levels with both 5 Hz-rTMS PAS and beta modulation and whether such improvements are accompanied by structural changes studied with diffusion MRI tractography and network analysis (Aim 1). With the study of muscle synergies and spatiotemporal organization of the spinal motoneuronal output during gait and reaching movements we will define the presence of functional changes in spinal cord mechanisms and connectivity and whether such changes are global or involve selective districts (Aim 2). Finally, we will study post-exercise changes in sleep pattern, as sleep is impaired in PD and plays a crucial role in the definition of plasticity-related phenomena (Aim 3). This project will generate breakthrough data on the mechanisms of exercise, novel biomarkers to monitor efficacy of treatments and thus, possibly leading to better restorative, disease-modifying and symptomatic therapies for PD.

Detailed description

We will study the effects of intensive rehabilitation in PD on plasticity with a multimodal approach. We will define first, whether exercise in PD restores the potentiation of the motor cortex to normal levels with both 5 Hz-rTMS PAS and beta modulation and whether such improvements are accompanied by structural changes studied with diffusion MRI tractography and network analysis (Aim 1). With the study of muscle synergies and spatiotemporal organization of the spinal motoneuronal output during gait and reaching movements we will define the presence of functional changes in spinal cord mechanisms and connectivity and whether such changes are global or involve selective districts (Aim 2). Finally, we will study post-exercise changes in sleep pattern, as sleep is impaired in PD and plays a crucial role in the definition of plasticity-related phenomena (Aim 3)

Interventions

DEVICEexperimental group MIRT

Task 1a: Assessing the effect of MIRT on cortical plasticity tested with rPAS Task 1b: Assessing the effect of MIRT on structural cortical plasticity and brain connectivity tested with MRI Task 1c: Assessing the effect of MIRT on movement-related beta modulation Task 1d: Assessing the effects of MIRT on motor skills formation with reaching tasks Task 1e: Assessing the effects of MIRT on EEG correlates of motor skills formation Task 2a: Assessing the effect of MIRT on muscle synergies during gait Task 2b: Assessing the effect of MIRT on muscle synergies during reaching movements Task 3a: Assessing the effect of MIRT on sleep microstructure

DEVICEEEG task rTMS, fMRI

EEG task rTMS, fMRI

Sponsors

IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

Idiophatic Parkinson Disease * H&Y stage I-II stable medication

Exclusion criteria

* Severe comorbid medical illness (diabetes, heart disease, hypertension); history of known causative factors (encephalitis or neuroleptic treatment); other neurologic disability; chronic treatment for sleep complaints; history of seizure, including febrile seizures, family history of epilepsy; pacemakers, neurostimulators, tattoos, metal foreign bodies in the head area; recurrent visual hallucinations; fluctuating cognition, attention or alertness; depression (HAMD\> 12) or dementia (MMSE \<24). Controls will be age- and education- matched subjects.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
functional magnetic resonance1 monthassessment of the functional and structural plasticity changes after MIRT

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
EMG1 monthmuscle synergies and spatiotemporal organization of the spinal motoneuronal output during gait and reaching movements we will define the presence of functional changes in spinal cord mechanisms and connectivity and whether such changes are global or involve selective districts

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
PS EEG1 monthwe will study post-exercise changes in sleep pattern, as sleep is impaired in PD and plays a crucial role in the definition of plasticity-related phenomena

Countries

Italy

Contacts

Primary Contactsilvia marino, MD
silvia.marino@irccsme.it09060128110

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026