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The Use of Sensory or Motor Cues Using Electrical Stimulation to Reduce Gait Freezing in Patients With Parkinson Disease

NCT00762814 · Status: TERMINATED · Phase: EARLY_PHASE1 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 4

Last updated 2018-05-11

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Some individuals with Parkinson disease experience "freezing" during walking which results in their inability to move their feet. They often have difficulty starting to move once they have stopped. Freezing often results in loss of balance and falling. Oral medications for Parkinson disease aren't as effective in treating freezing as it is in reducing other symptoms. Another treatment for freezing is instruction in walking using visual targets or auditory cues (thinking of a rhythm or beat). These cues can be initially effective for some individuals, but the effects do not last. Other types of cues have not been studied. We want to examine the effects of two other cues, tactile (touch) or motor (muscle contraction), on the effects of freezing.

Conditions

  • Parkinson Disease

Interventions

DEVICE

Gait tests with and without the use of a tactile sensory cue (electrical stimulation using a TENS unit)

Eligible subjects will be perform walking tests involving the use of the TENS device (Select Unit by Empi) on the lower leg bilaterally during gait: uncued (wearing the unit but, but with the device turned off) or with a tactile cue (wearing the device with it turned on until a tactile stimulus is felt). The TENS unit is a battery-operated, single-channel electrical stimulator worn around the proximal calf that can used to provide a constant tactile stimulus. All subjects will undergo a single visit in which the two walking conditions are tested. During these visits, the patient will perform the same gait assessments measured with the device turned off as well as turned on. Testing the two conditions on the same day/time will provide the investigators with a consistent comparison of the two tested conditions, as mobility and function in patients with PD can vary significantly within and between days.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Washington University School of Medicine

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
50 Years
Max Age
80 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2008-05-31
Primary Completion
2009-03-31
Completion
2009-06-30

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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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 NCT00762814 on ClinicalTrials.gov