Targeted Motor Learning to Improve Gait for Individuals With Parkinson Disease

This study is looking at how different ways of using a metronome during walking training can help people with Parkinson's disease improve their walking. Researchers will compare two types of metronome training: one called TRAC and another called dTRAC, which both involve using a metronome at different speeds while walking on a treadmill and on the ground. You might be able to join if you are between 50 and 80 years old, have Parkinson's disease (Hoehn and Yahr Stage 2-3), can walk for 10 minutes without help, and have normal hearing. The main goal is to see how much your walking distance changes after 3 months, measured by a Six-Minute Walk Test. The study is currently unclear on its recruitment status and plans to enroll 45 participants.

Study design
This is an interventional study with 45 planned participants. It will compare two different metronome-based gait training methods.
What's involved
You would participate in 12 training sessions, each lasting about an hour. This includes walking tests and brain imaging (MRI) before and after the training.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Your walking will be assessed at a 3-month follow-up visit after the training.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT05864157

Targeted Motor Learning to Improve Gait for Individuals With Parkinson Disease

Recruiting
NAAges 50–80InterventionalTreatment
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
~45 participants
Updated 2026-06-25 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Gait training without rhythmic auditory cuesTRACdTRAC

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Change in Six minute walk test (6MWT) at the 3 month follow up visit
Measured over Baseline, 3 month follow-up
Parkinson Disease

NCT05864157

Where you'd take part

This study runs at 1 site. They're the same protocol — you choose where, and that choice sets who your contact draft is addressed to.

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

    Chapel Hill, North Carolinano site contact published

    Recruiting

Sites open and close at different times, so the status above is per site — it can differ from the study's overall status.

  • Mike Lewek, PT, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Associate Professor

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

idiopathic Parkinson's disease (Hoehn and Yahr Stage 2-3)
self-report the ability to walk uninterrupted for 10 minutes both overground and on a treadmill without therapist assistance
comfortable gait speed \> 0.4 m/s and \< 1.2 m/s
normal (or corrected to normal \[i.e., hearing aid\]) hearing
deficits in gait continuity (e.g., shuffling, shortened strides, freezing, festination, bradykinesia, etc) based on observational gait analysis
Movement Disorders Society - Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS-III) item 10 ≥1 and \<3
be on stable doses of orally-administered levodopa
age 50-80 years old

Exclusion

contraindications to MRI (e.g., metal implants, claustrophobia, etc)
cognitive deficits (Montreal Cognitive Assessment \[MoCA\] \< 26)
concurrent Physical Therapy
have undergone deep brain stimulation surgery
cannot walk without therapist assistance
uncontrolled cardiorespiratory/metabolic disease, or other neurological disorders or orthopedic injury that may affect gait.
  • Change in Six minute walk test (6MWT) at the 3 month follow up visitBaseline, 3 month follow-up

    The 6-minute walk test provides a more objective quantitative measure of mobility, functional performance, and symptom control. It measures the distance an individual can walk over a total of six minutes on a hard, flat surface. The individual can self-pace and rest as needed as they walk back and forth along a marked course. The participant can use an assistive walking device they normally use, such as a cane. The minimum clinically important difference in 6-minute walk distance is approximately 30 meters, a difference that is associated with mortality. A higher change score represents a greater improvement in walking function and a better outcome.