PD4PD:Partnered Dance for Parkinson Disease (PD4PD)

Exercise is often noted as an important component in a comprehensive approach to the management of Parkinson disease (PD). Most studies of exercise have examined the effects of short-term interventions and have tested participants on their anti-Parkinson medications. As such, these studies have not been able to determine whether or not exercise may have a disease-modifying effect in people with PD. The investigators recent work has shown the potential benefits of dance as a form of exercise for individuals with PD, but, like previous work, has only examined short-term interventions. The investigators think that dance may be ideally suited for study over a longer period of time because dance incorporates many of the features recommended for inclusion in PD-specific exercise programs in a format that is known to be engaging and to enhance motivation to participate in healthful behaviors. As such, the investigators aim to determine both the short- and long-term effectiveness of a community-based dance program for individuals with Parkinson disease and to determine how physical function changes over time in individuals with PD who do not exercise as compared to those who exercise regularly. The investigators hypothesize that:

A) participation in dance will result in improved physical function, cognitive function, mood and quality of life in people with PD within 3 months,

B) additional improvements will be noted at 6 months as compared to 3 months,

C) improvements will be maintained at one year with continued, regular participation in a dance class,

D) those who do not exercise will show significant functional decline over a period of one year, a decline that will not be present in those who dance regularly.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Parkinson Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Tango dancing

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 62
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Missouri
    • St. Louis, Missouri, United States, 63108
      • Washington University School of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 30 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• normal central and peripheral neurological function
• at least grade 4/5 strength and normal joint ranges of motion in both legs, - vision corrected to 20/40 or better
• able to walk independently for 10 feet with or without an assistive device, - normal somatosensory function in the feet (2-point discrimination, vibration, joint kinesthesia, and light touch)
• no history of vestibular disease

Exclusion Criteria:

• serious medical problem
• evidence of abnormality other than PD-related changes on brain imaging (previously done for clinical evaluations-not part of this research)
• history or evidence of neurological deficit other than PD that could interfere, such as previous stroke or muscle disease
• history or evidence of orthopedic, muscular, or psychological problem

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: SINGLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control Group
Experimental: Tango; Twice weekly tango dance classes for 12 months.	Behavioral: Tango dancing; Twice weekly tango dance classes

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Motor Symptom Severity	We will use the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale, Motor Subscale 3, to assess the severity of movement-related symptoms. This is a standanrdized and well-established tool composed of multiple items each scored on a 0-4 scale, with 0 indicating no impairment and 4 indication severe impairment. The overall severity of motor symptoms is determined by summing scores for all of the individual items.	12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Washington University School of Medicine
• Collaborators: Parkinson's Disease Foundation

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Duncan RP, Earhart GM. Measuring participation in individuals with Parkinson disease: relationships with disease severity, quality of life, and mobility. Disabil Rehabil. 2011;33(15-16):1440-6. doi: 10.3109/09638288.2010.533245. Epub 2010 Nov 20.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: July 1, 2009
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2011
• Study Completion (Actual): June 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 29, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 5, 2011
• First Posted (Estimate): July 6, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): December 9, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 7, 2015
• Last Verified: December 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: exercise; gait; Parkinson disease; balance; motor symptoms
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Parkinsonian Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Movement Disorders; Synucleinopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Parkinson Disease
• Other Study ID Numbers: PD4PD-09-0168; PDF (Other Grant/Funding Number: Parkinson's Disease Foundation)