Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Disease

Duke University30 enrolled

Overview

This study is designed to evaluate whether a specific visuospatial training task will change gait performance of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients in doorways, specifically freezing of gait.

This study is a randomized, prospective, single-blinded six-week study in PD patients with freezing of gait (FOG). This study will involve 2 study groups: Group A - training group; Group B - no training group/controls. Both groups will complete a gait evaluation and neuropsychological testing. Group A will also practice an in-home visuospatial task for 30 minutes, 4-6 days per week for six weeks. Group B will not complete the in-home tasks. Participation in this study is expected to last 6-8 weeks.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Interventions

Tower of HanoiDEVICE

Placebo group - non use of Tower of HanoiOTHER

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Age: greater than 18 years old and without an upper age limit * diagnosis of idiopathic PD exhibiting at least 2 or 3 cardinal signs (bradykinesia, rigidity, and resting tremor) * Ambulate independently without an assistive device for at least 60 meters * Freezing of gait episodes confirmed through the FOG-Q and evaluation by a fellowship trained Movement Disorder neurologist * Willingness and ability to participate in training and complete training diary * Documented FOG-Q and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) II * Ability to sign informed consent * Pregnant females will be included in the study and there are no known risks to the pregnant female or fetus Exclusion Criteria: * Inability to complete questionnaires * Unwillingness to participate in training, complete all questionnaires and training diary * Subjects with secondary causes of parkinsonism * Significant dementia (MOCA \<20) * Prior deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery or pallidotomy * Subjects cannot participate in any form of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy or Speech Therapy during the study period * Subjects cannot start any new medications during the study period.

Locations (1)

Duke University Medical Center

Durham, North Carolina, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Double Limb Support (DLS)

Primary outcome will be the percent of the gait cycle spent in DLS. This will be evaluated using a GaitRite via a continuous walk, with subjects walking an 18-20 meter oval loop three times continuously.

Time frame: 6 weeks

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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