Single Exercise Bout in Parkinson's Disease (PD)
Condition: Parkinson Disease
MeSH terms: Parkinson Disease
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      To assess 30 active people (15 with PD, 15 without) before and after 30 minutes of pedaling
      exercise using EEG-EMG, cognitive, mood and motor assessments.
    

Detailed description: 
      Purpose: To assess 15 subjects with PD and 15 healthy controls, who exercise on a regular
      basis, before, during and after 30 minutes of pedaling exercise intervention. The
      investigators will assess subjects for alterations in motor cortex assessment, cognition and
      mood as measured by EMG/EEG, motor assessment and several batteries of questionnaires.
      Findings from this study will lay the foundation for long-term studies.

      Hypotheses: The investigators anticipate to observe an altered involvement of motor cortex
      during steady pedaling in individuals suffering from PD. In healthy control subjects it is
      anticipated that changes in cognition will be observable.

      Justification: Hindered movement initiation and continuing locomotion is a common syndrome in
      PD with profound impact on the patient's mobility and quality of life. So far, the underlying
      pathophysiology is not completely understood. Since the observation that cortical activity
      contributes to the muscle activity during locomotion-like tasks underpins the importance of
      corticospinal function in humans, it is of importance to examine whether this cortical
      involvement is altered and displays abnormalities in patients with PD. Thus, the approach of
      corticomuscular coupling during a locomotion-like task would allow for better understanding
      of the pathophysiology of PD, a prerequisite to develop therapies. Findings of this study
      will lay the foundation for future long-term studies.

      Additionally, by examining the oscillatory EEG patterns during the exercise intervention, the
      investigator will be able to read out the dose response curve in real time, which will
      provide information on the optimum intensity and duration of exercise. Findings will help to
      design future studies and to develop efficient exercise therapy interventions for people with
      PD.

      People living with PD often suffer from cognitive decline, depression, and fatigue. By
      assessing cognitive function before and after the exercise intervention, there will be laid a
      foundation for future studies investigating the effect of exercise on cognition. The
      collected pilot data will be relevant to learn more about the effects of exercise on mood and
      fatigue as well as concomitant obstacles and facilitators during exercise interventions in
      patients with PD.

      Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to investigate if activity that arises in
      the motor cortex and contributes to the muscle activity during moderate pedaling is altered
      in patients with PD compared to healthy gender- and age-matched controls. Thus, to better
      understand the role of the motor cortex and its contribution in simple automated repetitive
      tasks in patients with PD there will be analysis of the coherence of the coupling between EEG
      and EMG from active leg muscles during cycling on a stationary bicycle both in subjects with
      PD and age and gender matched healthy controls.
    

Intervention name(s): cycling exercise
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): 5 x 3 minute bouts of cycling exercise separated by 3 minute rest periods
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: 1 PD group and 1 one age matched non-PD subjects
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: exercise; EEG; EMG; Motor function; Mood; Cognition