NCT04122690Active, not recruiting
Partnered Dance Aerobic Exercise as a Neuroprotective, Motor and Cognitive Intervention in Parkinson's Disease
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 13 Jan 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a difficult to treat condition that impairs mobility and thinking. It is not fully treated by drugs and surgery. Two priority issues for most people with PD are "OFF-time" and Cognitive impairment. Even under best medical management, 74% of people with PD experience "OFF-time," which is when medications are just not working right. OFF-time severely impacts both quality of life and thinking. Cognitive problems are found even in newly diagnosed people with PD and are very difficult to treat. However, the investigators' research has shown that partnered dance-aerobic exercise (PDAE) reduces OFF-time on the official test for OFF-time of the Movement Disorders Society, the Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale-IV, (MDS-UPDRS-IV). PDAE improves other symptoms too. Benefits of the therapy have lasted for at least one-month after PDAE sessions stopped. PDAE provides aerobic exercise during an improvisational, cognitively-engaging physical activity. Cognitive engagement is a critical component of PDAE. Previous research showed PDAE improved spatial cognition, the ability to navigate, to mentally picture shapes and paths in the mind and to know the relationships between objects, people and places. Also, the investigators showed with imaging of the brain using a magnet in a scanner that twice weekly PDAE training increases activity in brain regions used in thinking and decision making. The investigators know that exercise benefits mobility and cognitive problems. The investigators even think exercise might protect brain cells in people with PD. But no one has really been able to show with biomarkers that exercise is protective of brain cells in humans.
- Status (registry)
- Active, not recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 82 (actual)
- First submitted
- 9 Oct 2019
- Start date
- 25 Jan 2021
- Primary completion date
- 15 Dec 2026
- Lead sponsor
- VA Office of Research and Development
- Diseases
- Parkinson disease
- NCT number
- NCT04122690
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Participants enrolled: 82
- From 25 Jan 2021 to the primary completion date, 15 Dec 2026
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Prior treatment
- Previous participation in PDAE or WAE classes.
- Severe cardiac disease, including:
- New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class III or IV congestive heart failure
- clinically significant aortic stenosis
- history of cardiac arrest, use of a cardiac defibrillator
- uncontrolled angina
- as discussed we are not planning to perform routine exercise tolerance tests prior to enrollment
Other illness
- Untreated Major Depression and major psychiatric illness
- History of stroke, or traumatic brain injury
- Taking moderate to high doses of beta-blockers with a resting heart rate below 60 beats/min since exercise intensity is measured through target heart rate.
- Other significant co-morbid disease that would impair ability to participate in the exercise-based intervention
- e.g. renal failure on hemodialysis, excessive alcohol use (\>14 drinks per wk)
Other
- Pure-tone threshold average sensitivity at 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 kHz exceeds 40 dB
- Alcohol abuse and/or use of antipsychotics
- Lives outside of the study site or is planning to move out of the area in next year or leave the area for \>1 month during the next year
- Any contraindications to MRI eg claustrophobia, etc
Who the study is looking for
- Age: older than 40 years (40 is upper limit for young onset PD)
- Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score \>17
- Able to walk with or without an assistive device at least 10 feet
- Best corrected/aided acuity better than 20/70 in the better eye
- Willingness to be randomized to either group
- H\&Y stages I-III
- Report OFF times (reporting \>0 on item 4.3 of the UPDRS-IV)
- Show clear symptomatic benefit from antiparkinsonian medications
- e.g., alleviated rigidity, bradykinesia, and tremor
- Fluent in English to comprehend and participate
Age in the registry: 40 years to 89 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta VA Medical and Rehab Center, Decatur, GA Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Decatur | United States | Unknown status |
Related publications
- Compliance and Satisfaction for 16 months of Adapted Tango vs. Supervised Walking for People with Parkinson's.NPJ Parkinsons Dis · 2025 · PMID 41453883
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.