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Completed Phase 1Phase 2 Interventional Results available

50 Hz Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) for the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT00977184

Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT00977184. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.

ClinicalTrials.gov public records Last synced Sep 2, 2026, 1:46 PM EDT

Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.

Official title

Controlled Study of 50 Hz Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease

Brief summary

Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.

Background: * In transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a device creates a short-lasting magnetic field which induces an electric current in the brain leading to a change in the activity of brain cells. There are different effects on the brain with different rates of stimulation. In a previous study in people with Parkinson's disease, repetitive TMS (rTMS) given at a particular rate temporarily improved their ability to walk. A faster rate of rTMS may be more effective in treating symptoms than the rate originally used. * This study will compare active rTMS to inactive (sham or Placebo) rTMS. Half of the people in this study will have active rTMS; the other half will have no brain stimulation with rTMS. Objectives: \- To see if a faster rate of transcranial magnetic stimulation is a more effective treatment for the symptoms of Parkinson's disease than the slower rates that have been studied. Eligibility: * Individuals between 40 and 80 years of age who have been diagnosed with mild or moderate Parkinson's disease. * Participants must currently be taking Sinemet or dopamine agonists drugs (e.g., bromocriptine, cabergoline, pergolide, pramipexole, ropinirole, apomorophine, and rotigotine), and are willing to continue their same treatments for the duration of the study. Design: * This study requires 11 outpatient visits to the NIH Clinical Center over 6 weeks. Participants can also be admitted and stay as an inpatient in the NIH Clinical Center for the entire study period (for the 10 visits during the first weeks and the follow-up visit a month later). * Initial visit will consist of a physical examination; a test of participants' time to walk 10 meters; and questions about memory, mood, and quality of life. Participants should not take Parkinson's disease medications for 12 hours before this visit; once the examinations and tests are complete, participants will be able to take the medications. Researchers will repeat the tests 1 hour after participants take the medication. * TMS sessions: 8 TMS sessions (4 sessions per week) over 2 weeks. Each stimulation session will last half an hour. Half of the participants will receive active TMS; the other half will receive sham TMS. * The first 10 participants will have additional tests to study the safety of rapid TMS in patients with Parkinson's disease. * A day after completing the last TMS session, participants will repeat the same tests as the first visit before and after taking their medication as in the first assessment and respond to questions about mood, memory, and quality of life. * One month after completing the last TMS session, participants will repeat the same tests as the first visit before and after taking their medication.

Study identification

NCT ID
NCT00977184
Recruitment status
Completed
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 1, Phase 2
Enrollment
26 participants

Conditions and interventions

Interventions

Procedure

Eligibility (public fields only)

Age range
40 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
Healthy volunteers
Healthy volunteers not accepted

This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.

Study timeline

Start date
Aug 31, 2009
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2010
Completion
Jun 30, 2010
Last update posted
Dec 26, 2012

2009 – 2010

United States locations

U.S. sites
1
U.S. states
1
U.S. cities
1
Facility City State ZIP Site status
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda Maryland 20892

Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.

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About this trial record page

What this page shows
Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT00977184, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
What this page does not do
No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
Where the data comes from
Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
Last refresh
Last update posted Dec 26, 2012 · Synced Sep 2, 2026

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The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT00977184 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.

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