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Virtual Reality for Parkinson's Disease

F

Farzin Hajebrahimi, PT, MSc

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Virtual Reality Therapy
Parkinson Disease
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Treatments

Behavioral: Exercise Therapy
Behavioral: Virtual Reality

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT03637023
PD-VR-2018

Details and patient eligibility

About

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disease. Bradykinesia, tremor, resting tremor and postural instability are the main motor characteristics of this disease. As the disease progresses, mobility, walking, balance are reducing, the risk of falls is increasing and patients become functionally dependent. Along with these symptoms, cognitive functions are also disturbed. The most commonly distorted cognitive functions are executive functions such as planning and reasoning, working memory, episodic memory, attention and visual-spatial skills. Pharmacological and surgical treatments are used in Parkinson's disease. Pharmacologic treatment has a proven effect on motor symptoms, but since there is no approved pharmacologic treatment which has a direct effect on cognitive functions, recent studies suggest non-pharmacological treatments to improve cognitive function. Physiotherapy is also accepted among non-pharmacological treatments. Conventional physiotherapy focuses on optimizing patient independence and safety, focusing on hinting strategies, cognitive movement strategies and exercises utilizing transfers, posture, upper extremity function, balance (and falls), gait, physical capacity and (in)activity. Virtual Reality (VR) technology, a promising commonly used new rehabilitation tool, is a treatment method that can be used as one of the non-pharmacological treatment methods in Parkinson's Disease. In order to understand how neuronal network dysfunction in the Parkinson's Disease leads to clinical symptoms, both the component elements and the interconnections within these networks need to be examined in greater detail. Studies of resting state-fMRI (rs-fMRI) use correlation of activation of brain regions and time series fluctuations between brain regions to give information about connectivity in brain.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the therapeutic effects of virtual reality on motor and cognitive symptoms of PD. Furthermore, the investigation of possible effects of this effect on neuroplasticity through functional brain networks is our other objective. This study will be the first study to evaluate the plasticity effect of virtual reality application with rs-fMRI in Parkinson's disease.

Enrollment

30 patients

Sex

All

Ages

50 to 85 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

  • To be 50 years old and older
  • Clinical diagnosis of PD within the -framework of Brain Bank criteria
  • Getting a stable antiparkinsonian medication at least for the last 1 month (or the treatment has not changed)

Exclusion criteria

  • Having a story of unstable medical condition
  • History of head trauma, stroke, or exposure to toxic substances
  • Implying Parkinson plus syndromes in neurological examinations; pyramidal, cerebellar examination findings, gaze paresis, autonomic dysfunction
  • Being diagnosed with Dementia

Trial design

Primary purpose

Treatment

Allocation

Randomized

Interventional model

Parallel Assignment

Masking

Double Blind

30 participants in 2 patient groups

Virtual Reality
Experimental group
Description:
Virtual Reality will be applied in addition to the Anti-parkinsonian medication given by the Neurologist.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Virtual Reality
Exercise Therapy
Active Comparator group
Description:
Exercise Therapy will be applied in addition to the Anti-parkinsonian medication given by the Neurologist.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Exercise Therapy

Trial contacts and locations

1

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Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov

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