About this trial
The study aims to assess the effects of cardiovascular (aerobic) training on memory formation and cognitive function in people with Parkinson's disease. Participants will be randomly allocated to one of two groups either performing cardiovascular training (experimental group) or stretching (control group) for twelve weeks, three times a week. The primary aim is to examine whether moderate-intense cardiovascular training (MICT) improves procedural memory formation (primary outcome) compared to stretching. Secondary outcomes include episodic memory formation, cognitive function, cardiorespiratory fitness, sleep quality, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) blood concentration levels.
Eligibility criteria
Qualifiers
Diagnosed Parkinson's disease
Disease stage ≤3 on the Hoehn & Yahr scale
Age ranging from 50 - 80 years
Naive to the memory tasks (primary outcomes)
Disqualifiers
Atypical Parkinsonism
Significant level of cognitive impairment (i.e., Montreal Cognitive Assessment <21)
Deep brain stimulation or brain pacemaker
Diagnosed psychiatric illness
Trial design
Treatments tested in this trial
- cardiovascular training
- stretching
Treatment groups
Sponsors and collaborators
Heidelberg University
Lead sponsor
German Foundation for Neurology
Collaborator
University Hospital Heidelberg
Collaborator
Universitätsmedizin Mannheim
Collaborator
SRH Kurpfalzkrankenhaus Heidelberg
Collaborator