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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease

NCT00001665 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 12

Last updated 2008-03-04

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The problems in motor activity associated with Parkinson's disease are still poorly understood. Patients with Parkinson's disease often suffer from extremely slow movements (bradykinesia) which result in the inability to perform complex physical acts.

Imaging studies of the brain have provided researchers with information about the specific areas in the brain associated with these motor difficulties. One particular area involved is the surface of the brain called the cerebral cortex.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technique that can be used to stimulate brain activity and gather information about brain function. It is very useful when studying the areas of the brain related to motor activity (motor cortex, corticospinal tract, and corpus callosum). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) involves the placement of a cooled electromagnet with a figure-eight coil on the patient's scalp and rapidly turning on and off the magnetic flux. This permits non-invasive, relatively localized stimulation of the surface of the brain (cerebral cortex). The effect of magnetic stimulation varies, depending upon the location, intensity and frequency of the magnetic pulses.

Researchers plan to study the therapeutic effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on complex motor behavior of patients with Parkinson's disease. In order to measure its effectiveness, patients will be asked to perform complex tasks, such as playing the piano while receiving transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Conditions

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

    lead NIH

Eligibility

Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
1997-01-31
Completion
2000-09-30

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00001665 on ClinicalTrials.gov