MedPath

The Dutch Parkinson and Cognition Study

Conditions
Parkinson Disease
Registration Number
NCT04180865
Lead Sponsor
University Medical Center Groningen
Brief Summary

Parkinson Disease (PD) is a heterogeneous, progressive neurodegenerative disorder which is characterized by a variety of motor and non-motor symptoms. The DUPARC study is a single-centre longitudinal cohort study aimed at deeply phenotyping newly diagnosed PD patients. The main aim is to investigate the relationship between cognitive impairment and both cholinergic and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in the early stages of the disease. In addition, gastrointestinal and visual system dysfunction in PD and their role in the underlying pathology are further explored in a longitudinal setup. Treatment-naïve participants will undergo extensive motor- and non-motor assessment, imaging, and microbiome assessment at time of diagnosis, and will be followed for at least 3 years.

Detailed Description

Rationale:

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by both motor and non-motor symptoms, including cognitive decline. Mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) is already present at time of diagnosis in 24-36% of PD patients. Cognitive impairment in PD is associated with both cholinergic and dopaminergic deficiencies in the brain. Although dopaminergic neuronal degeneration is quite well established in relationship to the motor impairment, the rate and extent of the cholinergic neuronal degeneration in the course of PD is unknown. It is also unclear how cholinergic and dopaminergic degeneration contributes to cognitive deficits found in early and more advanced PD and its role in the progression over time.

Objectives:

The primary objective is to establish the relationship between cognitive impairment and cholinergic neurodegeneration in de novo PD patients, by studying cholinergic imaging using \[ 18 F\]Fluoroethoxy-Benzovesamicol (\[18F\]FEOBV) positron emission tomography (PET) and neuropsychological performance over time.

Secondary objectives include: (1) the investigation of possible predictive factors using optical coherence tomography and (2) to determine the relative contributions of PD diagnosis and dopaminergic medication use to the changes in microbiota composition observed in PD patients.

Study design:

At baseline patients will undergo the following investigations and questionnaires: Demographics, detailed medical history, neuropsychological assessment, imaging including MRI brain, dopaminergic Fluoro-18-L-Dihydroxyphenylalanine (18F-FDOPA) and cholinergic FEOBV PET, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and microbiota composition. At one year follow-up subjects will undergo motor-, neuropsychological, and microbiota assessment. At 3 year follow up baseline measurements will be repeated in its entirety with the exception of the genetic and gastrointestinal assessments.

Study population:

150 de novo PD patients, recruited from the neurological practices in the northern area of the Netherlands and healthy control subjects. Healthy age-,sex- and constipation-matched controls will be assessed on microbiota composition

Assessment and endpoints related to gastroenterological assessment have been approved under a separate research protocol (NL61123.042.17 - CCMO) and has been officially linked to the overall protocol.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
UNKNOWN
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
150
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
[18F]FEOBV PETBaseline

Cortical and subcortical cholinergic innervation as measured by \[18F\] FEOBV PET imaging

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Attention and working memory performancebaseline

Attention performance will be calculated as an average Z-score of three cognitive tests; the Stroop color-word test, the digit span and the Vienna test system reaction time measurement. Based on established normative data, a z-score for each test outcome will be calculated, representing performance compared to an age-, gender- and educational level-matched control group. A Z-score of 0 (zero) represents a performance similar to the normative data. A positive z-score represents better performance, while a negative z-score represents worse performance. There is no minimum or maximum z-score. These z-scores from all three tests will be averages to form one outcome measurement representing attention performance.

Cognitive screeningbaseline

General cognitive performance will be assessed using a cognitive screening; the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA). The MOCA test covers the important cognitive domains including memory, attention, executive function, language and visuospatial abilities, resulting in one total score of cognitive performance. MOCA score ranges between 0 and 30, with higher scores representing better performance.

Memory performancebaseline

Memory performance will be calculated as an average Z-score of two cognitive tests; the Rey auditory verbal learning test for measuring verbal memory and the location learning test for measuring visual memory. Based on established normative data, a z-score for each test outcome will be calculated, representing performance compared to an age-, gender- and educational level-matched control group. A Z-score of 0 (zero) represents a performance similar to the normative data. A positive z-score represents better performance, while a negative z-score represents worse performance. There is no minimum or maximum z-score. These z-scores from both tests will be averages to form one outcome measurement representing memory performance.

Executive function performancebaseline

Executive function performance will be calculated as an average Z-score of four cognitive tests; the trail making test, the Wisconsin card sorting test, the Hayling Sentence completion test and the letter fluency test. Based on established normative data, a z-score for each test outcome will be calculated, representing performance compared to an age-, gender- and educational level-matched control group. A Z-score of 0 (zero) represents a performance similar to the normative data. A positive z-score represents better performance, while a negative z-score represents worse performance. There is no minimum or maximum z-score. These z-scores from all tests will be averages to form one outcome measurement representing executive performance.

Visouspatial abilitiesbaseline

Cognitive visuospatial abilities will be calculated as an average Z-score of two cognitive tests; the Judgement of line orientation and the Map search subtest of the test of everyday attention. Based on established normative data, a z-score for each test outcome will be calculated, representing performance compared to an age-, gender- and educational level-matched control group. A Z-score of 0 (zero) represents a performance similar to the normative data. A positive z-score represents better performance, while a negative z-score represents worse performance. There is no minimum or maximum z-score. These z-scores from all tests will be averages to form one outcome measurement representing visuospatial abilities.

Language performancebaseline

Language performance will be calculated as an average Z-score of two cognitive tests; the Boston Naming test and the verbal fluency test. Based on established normative data, a z-score for each test outcome will be calculated, representing performance compared to an age-, gender- and educational level-matched control group. A Z-score of 0 (zero) represents a performance similar to the normative data. A positive z-score represents better performance, while a negative z-score represents worse performance. There is no minimum or maximum z-score. These z-scores from all tests will be averages to form one outcome measurement representing language performance.

Brain grey matter volumeBaseline, 3 year follow-up

Grey matter volume as measured by structural MRI.

resting state functional MRIBaseline, 3 year follow-up

resting state functional MRI

MRI: Arterial spin labelingBaseline, 3 year follow-up

cerebral blood perfusion as measured by arterial spin labeling MRI

MRI: Diffusion weighted imageBaseline, 3 year follow-up

White matter assessment as measured by diffusion weighted image

Optical Coherence tomographyBaseline and 3 year follow-up

Imaging of the retinal cell layers

Social cognitionbaseline

Social cognition abilities will be represented as a z-score calculated from the performance on the FEEST; Facial Expression of Emotion Stimuli and tests. Based on established normative data, a z-score of the test outcome will be calculated, representing performance compared to an age-, gender- and educational level-matched control group. A Z-score of 0 (zero) represents a performance similar to the normative data. A positive z-score represents better performance, while a negative z-score represents worse performance. There is no minimum or maximum z-score. These z-scores from the FEEST test represents social cognition performance.

MRI: susceptibility weighted imageBaseline, 3 year follow-up

Brain hemorrhage and iron storage as measured by susceptibility weighted image

fecal zonulinbaseline

fecal zonulin as one of the measures of intestinal wall permeability

Microbiota compositionBaseline and 1 year follow-up

Taxonomic classification of gut microbiota composition based on 16s ribosomal RNA-gene sequencing.

fecal alpha1-antitrypsinbaseline

fecal alpha1-antitrypsin as one of the measures of intestinal wall permeability

serum zonulinbaseline

serum zonulin as one of the measures of intestinal wall permeability

Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale IIIBaseline, 1 year follow-up, 3 year follow-up

Motor assessment measured by the Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III, a scale describing motor performance specific for patients with Parkinson's disease. Score between 0 and 72, with a higher score indicating more severe motor impairment.

serum lipopolysaccharide binding proteinbaseline

serum lipopolysaccharide binding protein as one of the measures of intestinal wall permeability

multi-sugar urinary excretion testbaseline

multi-sugar urinary excretion test as one of the measures of intestinal wall permeability

Change in [18F] FEOBV PET over 3 yearsbaseline, 3 year follow up

Change in cortical and subcortical cholinergic innervation over a time period of 3 years, as measured by baseline and follow-up \[18F\] FEOBV

Genetic subtypingBaseline

Saliva samples will be collected for clinical-genetic subtyping based on genome wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis using the Illumina Screening Array (GSA-MD)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University Medical Center Groningen

🇳🇱

Groningen, Netherlands

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