CENTRAL FATIGUE IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE
Research type
Research Study
Full title
KINEMATIC ANALYSIS OF CENTRAL FATIGUE IN PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE
IRAS ID
134832
Contact name
KALLOL RAY CHAUDHURI
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Research summary
Central fatigue may be defined as the difficulty in initiating and sustaining mental and physical tasks which is not directly caused by concurrent motor or physical impairment. Central fatigue is common and debilitating for Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. This symptom can be measured asking patients to perform a relatively complex sequence of finger movements in synchrony with a metronome for a prolonged period of time. In this pilot study, 25 patients with PD and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects (all right-handed and without clinically relevant cognitive deterioration) will perform a sequence of finger movements (opposition of thumb to index, medium, ring and little fingers) following a metronome for 5 minutes, and then for another minute after a 2-minutes rest. They will wear an engineered glove that will allow the measurement of the accuracy of the task performance, counting the number of correct sequences and evaluating the ability to follow the metronome while performing the finger movements. Clinical rating scales will also be administered to PD patients to test whether apathy, depression, slowness of movements and sustained attention correlate with this motor performance.
REC name
London - Surrey Borders Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1613
Date of REC Opinion
22 Oct 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion