Skip to main content

Clinical Trials in Movement Disorders

The Movement Disorders Division at the University of Utah is currently involved in a total of fourteen clinical research studies (six of them are in Parkinson’s disease). Below is a brief synopsis of some of these studies.

Lab Research Trial

Actively Recruiting Trials (by Condition)

Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Syn-D/National Institute of Health

Syn-D plays an important role in helping advance early detection of Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, advancing the science for early detection.

What Will Happen? A medical professional will do an exam and take your medical history. You’ll fill out some questionnaires. A medical professional will complete three small skin samples, a smell test, and blood collection. You’ll earn $100 for each visit.

Primary Investigator: Guillaume Lamotte, MD, MSc

For questions about enrollment, please call local coordinator Kendra Fowler (801) 581-7828 or email kendra.fowler@utah.edu.

Dystonia

The Dystonia Coalition/Rare Diseases Clinical Research

The Dystonia Coalition is an international collaboration of medical researchers and patient advocacy groups with a mission to advance the pace of clinical and translational research in the dystonias to find better treatments and a cure.

Principal Investigator: Panagiotis Kassavetis, MD, PhD

For questions about enrollment, please call local coordinator Annalee Hovinga at 801-581-4543 or email her at Annalee.hovinga@hsc.utah.edu.
 

Next-Generation Clinical Phenotyping and Pathophysiology of Laryngeal Dystonia and Voice Tremor

The University of Utah is a participating research site on this P50 grant awarded by the NIH/NIDCD. The study creates specialized centers and cross-disciplinary research focused on understanding the clinical and pathophysiologic features of laryngeal dystonia (i.e. spasmodic dysphonia) and voice tremor.

Principal Investigator: Kristina Simonyan

Coinvestigators: Paolo Moretti (U of Utah; Movement Disorders) and J. Rolston and S. Rahinpour (U of Utah; Functional Neurosurgery)

For more information, please contact Jessica.Ku@hsc.utah.edu

Essential Tremor

"Physiologic Correlates of Vocal Tremor Affecting Those with Essential Tremor" | National Institutes of Health

Essential tremor is one of the most common movement disorders in the world. Approximately 30% of these individuals exhibit a vocal tremor, with the majority being female. This study will evaluate mechanisms of vocal tremor and their effects on communication, with the goal of advancing current and future treatments.

Principal Investigator: Julie Barkmeier-Kraemer

Coinvestigator: Paolo Moretti, MD and Panagiotis Kassavetis, MD, PhD

For more information, please contact Clinical Research Coordinator Derrik Legler at Derrik.Legler@hsc.utah.edu

Huntington's Disease

"Enroll-HD: A Prospective Registry Study in a Global Huntington Disease (HD) Cohort" | Cure Huntington’s Disease Initiative Foundation (CHDI)

A worldwide, longitudinal research study of Huntington’s disease (HD). Clinical information and biological samples are collected at annual visits to try and find new treatments for the disease. Our site is actively enrolling participants with Huntington’s disease as well as their families.

Site Principal Investigator: Paolo Moretti, MD

For more information, please contact Clinical Research Coordinator Madison Sumerlin: 801-587-9012; Madison.sumerlin@hsc.utah.edu.

Parkinson's Disease

"Cardiovascular Autonomic Regulation & Exercise in Parkinson's Disease (CARE-PD)"

A study to determine the effect of an acute bout of moderate aerobic exercise on post-exercise cardiovascular function in PD.

Principal Investigator: Erin Suttman

Site Principal Investigator: Erin Suttman

If interested, contact erin.suttman@utah.edu.
 

Effect of Levodopa on Cardiovascular Autonomic Function in Parkinson’s Disease with and without Orthostatic Hypotension: A Cross-Over Study

Levodopa is the most common medication used to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Research is needed for us to better understand how Levodopa affects the blood pressure and heart rate in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

For more information, please contact Guillaume.Lamotte@hsc.utah.edu.
 

Hemodynamic Responses to Exercise in Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease with and without Orthostatic Hypotension and on and off Levodopa

This study investigates the autonomic response to exercise in people with Parkinson's disease with and without orthostatic hypotension.

Sub-Investigator: Guillaume Lamotte, MD, MSc

For more information, please contact Guillaume.Lamotte@hsc.utah.edu.
 

Relationship between Pupillometry, Olfaction, Balance, and Cognition in Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease and Essential Tremor.  

The purpose of the study is to use simple tools that could be used in a health clinic to identify people with Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor. This study investigates the pupillary light reflex and olfactory testing as surrogate markers of balance and cognitive function in people with Parkinson's disease and essential tremor who undergo presurgical evaluation for deep brain stimulation or focused ultrasound.

Primary Investigator: Guillaume Lamotte, MD, MSc

For more information, please contact Guillaume.Lamotte@hsc.utah.edu.
 

"Study in Parkinson Disease of Exercise Phase 3 Clinical Trial (SPARX3)" | National Institutes of Health

A study to learn more about the effects of aerobic exercise on people with Parkinson’s disease who have been diagnosed in the last three years and have not started taking medications for their PD symptoms.

Primary Investigator: Daniel Corcos

Coinvestigator: Paolo Moretti, MD

You can visit the SPARX3 webpage for more information about the study. To be screened for enrollment, please call (801) 587-3181 or email G.Olivier@utah.edu.
 

Tissue Repository for Neurodegenerative Diseases

To determine the genetic basis of neurodegenerative diseases. Recruitment consists of consent, blood draw or tissue collection, and a medical history questionnaire; video recording is optional. Recruitment will take place in clinic based on clinical diagnosis. The physician evaluating the patient will place a call to our clinical coordinator so that explanation of project and consent can take place.

Primary Investigator: Stefan Pulst, MD, Dr med

Co-Investigator: Paolo Moretti, MD
 

Utah Parkinson Disease Registry (UPDR)

A state-wide registry run by the Utah Department of Health in collaboration with the Department of Neurology at University of Utah to collect information about PD that will help improve our knowledge about the causes and treatment of PD. You can sign up at www.updr.org.  
 

Looking for current (but not actively recruiting) trials and recently completed trials? Click below.

For additional information about these studies, please contact kendra.fowler@utah.edu.

Our Partners