Parkinson's Disease Clinical Trials in New York, NY

Synucleinopathies are a group of rare diseases associated with worsening neurological deficits and the abnormal accumulation of the protein α-synuclein in the nervous system. Onset is usually in late adulthood at age 50 or older. Usually, synucleinopathies present clinically with slowness of movement, coordination difficulties or mild cognitive impairment. Development of these features indicates that abnormal alpha-synuclein deposits have destroyed key areas of the brain involved in the control of movement or cognition. Patients with synucleinopathies and signs of CNS-deficits are frequently diagnosed with Parkinson disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) or multiple system atrophy (MSA). However, accumulation of alpha-synuclein and death of nerve cells can also begin outside the brain in the autonomic nerves. In such cases, syncucleinopathies present first with symptoms of autonomic impairment (unexplained constipation, urinary difficulties, and sexual dysfunction). In rare cases, hypotension on standing (a disorder known as orthostatic hypotension) may be the only clinical finding. This "pre-motor" autonomic stage suggests that the disease process may not yet have spread to the brain. After a variable period of time, but usually within 5-years, most patients with abnormally low blood pressure on standing develop cognitive or motor abnormalities. This stepwise evolution indicates that the disease spreads from the body to the brain. Another indication of this spread is that acting out dreams (i.e., REM sleep behavior disorder, RBD) a problem that occurs when the lower part of the brain is affected, may also be the first noticeable sign of Parkinson disease. The purpose of this study is to document the clinical features and biological markers of patients with synucleinopathies and better understand how these disorders evolve over time. The study will involve following patients diagnosed with a synucleinopathy (PD/DLB and MSA) and those believed to be in the "pre-motor" stage (with isolated autonomic impairment and/or RBD). Through a careful series of follow-up visits to participating Centers, we will focus on finding biological clues that predict which patients will develop motor/cognitive problems and which ones have the resilience to keep the disease at bay preventing spread to the brain. We will also define the natural history of MSA - the most aggressive of the synucleinopathies. Read Less

Airway protective disorders are a prevalent and progressive consequence of Parkinson's Disease (PD), and often result in aspiration pneumonia which is the leading cause of death in PD. Despite this, a large number of patients with PD do not access specialized services to address these critical deficits. The investigators will examine the comparative effectiveness of a novel treatment paradigm delivered in-person versus via telehealth in persons with PD, as well as the role of patient burden and treatment adherence on outcomes; thus, the proposed research is relevant to public health and in line with NIH's mission to identify novel, efficacious, and accessible rehabilitation strategies for short- and long-term improvement of dysfunctional airway protection in PD. Read Less

This registry is a prospective, multicenter, international, single arm, observational post-approval registry with follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months, and annually for 5 years. The proposed registry will enroll 60 subjects and will be conducted at approximately 10 centers worldwide. Read Less

Development of a central repository for PD-related genomic data for future research. Read Less

Parkinson Disease (PD) patients experience a variety of motor issues such as walking difficulties, loss of balance, and freezing while walking, which impacts their quality of life. Some symptoms, like freezing of gait (FOG), do not respond to medications typically used to treat PD. Current surgical procedures used to alleviate PD symptoms also do not always improve FOG. Since many traditional therapies have failed for the treatment of FOG, researchers have proposed the use of newer treatments. Recent research in animal models and clinical human data using SCS has produced promising results, specifically showing improvement in FOG with the use of SCS in patients with PD. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for the management of freezing of gait (FOG) that does not respond to conventional treatments in subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD). The investigators hypothesize that SCS significantly decreases FOG episodes in patients with PD. 1. Assess the safety, tolerability and preliminary evidence of effectiveness of upper thoracic spinal cord stimulation for freezing of gait in Parkinson's (PD) patients. 2. Explore the effects of two SCS programming paradigms on motor, nonmotor and quality of life measures in PD patients with freezing of gait. Read Less