Conditions: Parkinson's Disease
Keywords: parkinsons disease falling
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Enrollment: 23
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The purpose of this study is to find out if a medication that increases levels of a brain chemical called acetylcholine will improve balance and reduce falls in patients with parkinson's disease who have the problem of very poor balance and are frequently falling or nearly falling on a daily basis. Donepezil, a drug approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia, will reduce falls in subjects with Parkinson's disease and balance impairment.

Detailed description:
This trial is a double-blinded cross-over design comparing donepezil with placebo in 40 subjects with idiopathic Parkinson's disease who report frequent falls or near falls (\>2/week). The purpose of this study is to find out if a medication that increases levels of a brain chemical called acetylcholine will improve balance and reduce falls in patients with parkinson's disease who have the problem of very poor balance and are frequently falling or nearly falling on a daily basis. Donepezil, a drug approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia, will reduce falls in subjects with Parkinson's disease and balance impairment.

Arms:
arm 1: None arm 2: None

Interventions: intervention 1: Donepezil intervention 2: Sugar Pill (placebo)
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: donepezil, 5 mg, capsule, once a day, 3 weeks intervention 2: sugar pill, one capsule, once a day, 3 weeks

Protocol document: