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Dance in Parkinson's Disease. A Greek Pilot Study

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Parkinson Disease
Interventions
Behavioral: Dance for PD® classes
Registration Number
NCT05134506
Lead Sponsor
University of West Attica
Brief Summary

Dance for Parkinson's Disease® (DfPD®) is a structured dance program that has never been evaluated in Greek PD population. This study assesses for the first time the efficacy, safety and feasibility of DfPD® program in Greek PD patients.

A total of 16 early-to-mid-stage PD patients underwent a total of 16 60-min classes of adjusted to Greek music and dance culture DfPD®, twice weekly, over 8 weeks. Assessments were performed at baseline and at the end of the study period and included quality of life, depressive symptoms, fatigue, cognitive functions, balance and body mass index. Safety and feasibility were also assessed.

Detailed Description

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is an idiopathic, neurodegenerative, and progressive movement disorder caused mainly by dysfunction of dopaminergic cells of the substantia nigra. Numerous studies demonstrate the benefits of regular physical exercise in PD, with aerobic exercise having a greater neuroprotective effect by stimulating brain neuroplasticity. People with PD are more easily motivated to attend dance classes systematically than other forms of exercise, they have a high compliance rate with low dropouts, and often continue to practice dance outside the dance intervention.

DfPD® (Dance for Parkinson's Disease®, or Dance for PD®) was developed by the Brooklyn Parkinson Group (BPG) in collaboration with the Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) in 2001.This intervention has previously been shown to exert beneficial effect on QoL, motor functions, cognition, self-efficacy, anxiety and depression in people with PD. To the investigators' knowledge, there is no study investigating the effect of any structured dance program in Greek PD patients. Furthermore, no study to date has investigated the effect of DfPD® on PD patients' fatigue. The present pilot study aimed at evaluating for the first time the efficacy, safety and feasibility of a culturally adjusted DfPD® program in Greek patients with early-to-mid-stage PD.

This is a prospective, non-randomized, uncontrolled, open-label, pilot study. A total of 16 early-to-mid-stage PD patients underwent a total of 16 60-min classes of adjusted to Greek music and dance culture DfPD®, twice weekly, over 8 weeks. Assessments were performed at baseline and at the end of the study period and included quality of life, depressive symptoms, fatigue, cognitive functions, balance and body mass index. Safety and feasibility were also assessed.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
16
Inclusion Criteria
  • Age ≥18 years
  • An established diagnosis of idiopathic PD of an early-to-moderate severity; that is from 0 to 2,5 according to Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stages
  • Ability to understand, write and speak in Greek
  • Written consent for participating into the study
Exclusion Criteria
  • A diagnosis of a non-PD tremor disorder
  • Moderate-to-severe PD (≥3 H&Y stages) due to a high falls risk
  • Serious health or disability issues (either physical or mental) due of which exercise is not permitted and/or basic instructions during the program cannot be followed
  • Mental disorder not related to PD
  • Any disease other than PD which could affect mobility levels

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SINGLE_GROUP
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Dance for PD® classesDance for PD® classesDance for PD® was developed by the Brooklyn Parkinson Group (BPG) in collaboration with the Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) in 2001. It was designed to introduce people with PD to techniques used by dancers to control movement and it integrates different dance genres while participants dance individually and in groups rather than partnered.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Occurence of Emergent Adverse EventsDuring the intervention (week 2-9)

Occurrence of adverse events comprising falls, injuries, muscle soreness or excessive fatigue.

Financial Feasibility AssessmentDuring the intervention (week 2-9)

No cost for the studio and the dance instructor.

Change in total score of Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-8Baseline (week 1), end of intervention (week 10)

Minimum score 0, Maximum score 100. A higher score indicates worse quality of life.

Assessment of Recruitment RatesStart of Recruitment (-3 months), Baseline (week 1)

Target, up to 2 months for 16 participants.

Assessment of Willingness to Continue the Program after the InterventionEnd of intervention (week 10)

Verbal statement for continuing the program after the end of the intervention

Adherence and Attrition AssessmentDuring the intervention (week 2-9)

Adherence and attrition rates; an adherence rate ≥70% is considered as high in elderly with functional limitations, and attrition rate ≤15% is considered acceptable by the PEDro scale.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in total score of Beck Depression Inventory-IIBaseline (week 1), end of intervention (week 10)

Minimum score 0, Maximum score 63. A higher score indicates worse depressive symptoms.

Change in total score of Parkinson Fatigue Scale-16Baseline (week 1), end of intervention (week 10)

Minimum score 1, Maximum score 5. A higher score indicates more fatigue.

Change in total score of Berg Balance ScaleBaseline (week 1), end of intervention (week 10)

Minimum score is 0, Maximum score is 56. Lower scores indicate worse balance.

Change in Body Mass IndexBaseline (week 1), end of intervention (week 10)

Lower scores than 18,5 indicate underweight, scores of 18,5-24,9 indicate normal weight, scores of 25-29,9 indicate overweight and scores of over 30 indicate obesity.

Change in total score of Montreal Cognitive AssessmentBaseline (week 1), end of intervention (week 10)

Minimum score is 0, Maximum score 30. Lower scores indicate cognitive impairment.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Laboratory of Neuromuscular and Cardiovascular Study of Motion (LANECASM)

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Athens, Attica, Greece

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