Neurobiological Drivers of Mobility Resilience: The Dopaminergic System

• Status: Recruiting
• Trial end date: 2022-09-21
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Walking with age becomes both slower and less 'automated', requiring more attention and brain resources. As a result, older adults have a greater risk of negative outcomes and falls. There is an urgent need to identify factors that can help compensate for these harmful factors and reduce walking impairments, as there are currently no effective treatments available. Investigators have recently discovered that ~20% of older adults maintain fast walking speed even in the presence of small blood vessel brain changes and leg problems, thus appearing to be protected against these harmful factors. The investigators work suggests that the brain dopamine (DA) system may be a source of this protective capacity. Investigators have also shown that lower levels of dopamine are associated with slow walking. Investigators will be investigating the role of dopamine on slow walking and other parkinsonian signs using detailed clinical assessment, assessment of dopamine activity, and clinical interventions.

• Phase: Phase 1/Phase 2
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: University of Michigan
• Treatments: Carbidopa; Carbidopa, levodopa drug combination; Dopamine; Dopamine Agonists; Levodopa

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 60 or older (M/F)

2. Evidence of mild parkinsonian signs (incl. slow gait (< 1m/s))

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Presence of clinically significant degenerative joint disease and/or neuropathy interfering with proper assessment of the motor UPDRS exam.

2. Presence of significant dementia.

3. Evidence of a large vessel stroke in a clinically relevant area (cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus) or mass lesion on structural brain imaging (MRI).

4. Participants in whom magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is contraindicated including, but not limited to, those with a pacemaker, presence of metallic fragments near the eyes or spinal cord, or cochlear implant.

5. Severe claustrophobia precluding neuroimaging procedures.

6. Hypersensitivity to the carbidopa, levodopa, and tablet components.

7. Any other medical history determined by investigators to preclude safe participation.