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Exercise for Moderate Parkinson's Disease

This study is looking at how different amounts of exercise affect people with moderate Parkinson's disease (PD). Researchers want to see if exercising a lot one week a month (High Volume Partnered Dance Aerobic Exercise, or HV-PDAE) is better than exercising weekly with no breaks (Moderate Volume Partnered Dance Aerobic Exercise, or MV-PDAE). There's also a group doing Moderate Volume Walking (MV-WALK) to compare against. You might be able to join if you are 40 or older, have a definite diagnosis of PD, and show certain symptoms like rigidity. The study will measure how fast you walk, your overall physical activity, and your blood vessel health after 52 weeks to see which exercise plan is most effective. The study plans to enroll 123 people, but its current status is unclear.

Study design
This interventional study plans to enroll 123 participants. It compares three different exercise programs: HV-PDAE, MV-PDAE, and MV-WALK.
What's involved
If you join the HV-PDAE group, you will attend 90-minute sessions 5 times a week for 3 weeks at the start, and then every 4 weeks for a year. If you join the MV-PDAE or MV-WALK groups, you will attend 65-minute sessions biweekly for 52 weeks. All participants will receive 112.5 hours of training.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
The main measurements for this study will be taken at 52 weeks, indicating participants will be followed for at least that long.

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

NCT06088355

Moderate Versus High Volume Light-Moderate Intensity Exercise for People With Moderate Parkinson's Disease

Recruiting
NAAges 40+InterventionalTreatment
VA Office of Research and Development
~123 participants
Updated 2026-07-29 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:HV-PDAE: High Volume Partnered Dance Aerobic ExerciseMV-PDAE: Moderate Volume Partnered Dance Aerobic ExerciseMV-WALK: Moderate Volume WalkingHV-WALK: High Volume Walking

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Gait cadence
Measured over 52 weeks
+2 more outcomes measured

Conditions

Parkinson Disease
Movement Disorders
Neurodegeneration

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Parkinson Disease

NCT06088355

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.

  • Atlanta VA Medical and Rehab Center, Decatur, GA

    Decatur, Georgiastudy coordinator listed

    Recruiting

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

Study leadership

  • Madeleine E. Hackney, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Atlanta VA Medical and Rehab Center, Decatur, GA

Who to contact

Madeleine E Hackney, PhD
[email protected]
(404) 321-6111 · ext. 5006
Email the study team

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

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 a treatment group
H\&Y stages 2, 2.5 and 3
Show clear symptomatic benefit (e.g., alleviated rigidity, bradykinesia, and tremor) from antiparkinsonian medications
Fluent in English to be able to comprehend and participate; older than 40 years; Diagnosis of definite Parkinson's disease by board certified Movement Disorders Neurologist, using standardized UK Brain Bank criteria

Exclusion

Untreated Major Depression and major psychiatric illness
History of stroke, or traumatic brain injury
Pure-tone threshold average sensitivity at 0.5, 1.0,and 2.0 kHz exceeds 40 dB
Alcohol abuse and/or use of antipsychotics
Planning to leave the area for \>1 month during the study time period.
Taking moderate to high doses of beta-blockers with a resting heart rate below 60 beats/min given that exercise intensity is measured through target heart rate.
Severe cardiac disease, including NYHA Class III or IV congestive heart failure, clinically significant aortic stenosis, history of cardiac arrest, use of a cardiac defibrillator, or uncontrolled angina
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)

What this trial measures

  • Gait cadence52 weeks

    Gait Cadence is the number of human steps taken per minute while walking.

  • Physical activity scale for the elderly (PASE)52 weeks

    This questionnaire is very comprehensive and assesses an older adults' activity level within the previous week by totaling their involvement in a variety of physical activities. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 400. Higher scores indicate better outcomes.

  • vascular function: Pulse wave velocity and Aortic index52 weeks

    Pulse wave velocity and augmentation aortic index are valid and reliable measures of vascular function. Pulse-wave velocity (PWV) is a measurement of arterial stiffness and is an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk. It can be assessed simply and noninvasively by measuring the carotid and femoral pulse pressures and the time delay between the two or by other methods relying on pulse-wave analysis.