SNS for Treatment of PD Gait Disorder

Overview

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive disease, characterized by dopaminergic neurons degeneration in the substantia nigra. Postural and gait disorders usually occur in advanced PD patients. However, existing drugs and deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy are not effective enough for these axial symptoms or cannot maintain long-term efficacy, which seriously reduce patients' quality of life. Sacral nerve stimulation(SNS) is a treatment for urinary symptoms in PD. It has been reported that SNS can also improve PD gait disturbance, but the level of evidence currently is low. We assume that SNS may have a similar mechanism to spinal cord stimulation and may be an effective treatment for PD gait disorder. However, there are few studies on the mechanism of SNS treatment. Therefore, we will conduct a large sample, prospective case-control study to provide a higher level of clinical evidence for sacral nerve stimulation in the treatment of gait disturbance in PD. Our primary objective is to evaluate the efficacy of SNS for gait disorder in PD. PD patients who have received DBS surgery but still have severe gait problems will be included. This study will contribute to evaluate the efficacy of SNS for gait disorder in PD, provide level II evidence for expanding the indications of SNS, varicocelectomy., and improve patients' quality of life.

Full Title of Study: “Sacral Nerve Stimulation in the Treatment of Gait Disorder in Patients With Parkinson’s Disease”

Study Type

  • Study Type: Interventional
  • Study Design
    • Allocation: Non-Randomized
    • Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
    • Primary Purpose: Treatment
    • Masking: Double (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
  • Study Primary Completion Date: May 30, 2021

Interventions

  • Device: Sacral Nerve Stimulation
    • Implantation of a sacral nerve neurostimulation system: A single electrode (Interstim® model 3889-28; Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN) was inserted bilaterally into the sacral foramen (S3), connected to an internal pulse generator (Medtronic Interstim ® II 3058)

Arms, Groups and Cohorts

  • Experimental: Sacral Nerve Stimulation
    • Intervention: Sacral nerve Stimulation Stimulation sites:S3 Postoperative study visits lasted approximately 3 hours and were conducted in 3 months.
  • No Intervention: No SNS Intervention

Clinical Trial Outcome Measures

Primary Measures

  • Parameter changes in Timed Up and Go Test
    • Time Frame: Baseline (preoperative), during external test stimulation (1-14 days after electrode implantation), 3 months post-SNS
    • Patients should stand up from the chair, walk forward for 3m with daily speed, turn after passing the marked line, and then walk back to the chair and sit down, leaning back in the chair. Video recordings will be made throughout the test.

Secondary Measures

  • Changes in Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Part Ⅲ (UPDRS Ⅲ) scores
    • Time Frame: Baseline (preoperative), 3 months post-SNS
    • Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Part Ⅲ (UPDRS Ⅲ) measures the motor severity of Parkinson’s disease. UPDRS Ⅲ score has a range of 0 (no symptoms) to 132 (severe disease symptoms).
  • Changes in Gait and Fall Questionnaire (GFQ) scores
    • Time Frame: Baseline (preoperative), 3 months post-SNS
    • GFQ is a subjective scale for gait problems in the past 4 weeks. GFQ score has a range of 0 (no gait problems) to 64 (severe gait problems)
  • Changes in Berg Balance scale (BBS) scores
    • Time Frame: Baseline (preoperative), 3 months post-SNS
    • BBS measures patients’ static and dynamic balance abilities. BBS score has a range of 0 (severe balance problems) to 56 (no balance problems).
  • Changes in 8-item Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-8) scores
    • Time Frame: Baseline (preoperative), 3 months post-SNS
    • PDQ-8 is a reliable and feasible tool for the assessment of quality of life in Parkinson’s disease patients.
  • Changes in EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) scores
    • Time Frame: Baseline (preoperative), 3 months post-SNS
    • EQ-5D measures five dimensions of PD patients’ quality of life: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression.
  • Changes in Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) scores
    • Time Frame: Baseline (preoperative), 3 months post-SNS
    • The MoCA is a widely used screening assessment for detecting cognitive impairment. MoCA score has a range of 0 (severe dementia) to 30 (cognitive intact).
  • Changes in Voiding Diary
    • Time Frame: Baseline (preoperative), during external test stimulation (1-14 days after electrode implantation), 3 months post-SNS
    • The voiding diary recording the patient’s daily fluid input and urinary output is a simple but effective tool for assessing storage symptoms.
  • Parameter changes in Dual task
    • Time Frame: Baseline (preoperative), 3 months post-SNS
    • The protocol requires patient to walk along a walkway of 5 m between two retroreflective markers placed 0.5 m. They are asked to make a left or right turn of 360° around the marker before walking further. They are instruted to complete the task with or without a verbal cognitive color classification task.
  • Parameter changes in Six-Minute Walking Test
    • Time Frame: Baseline (preoperative), 3 months post-SNS
    • This test measures the distance that a patient can quickly walk on a flat, hard surface in a period of 6 minutes.
  • Parameter changes in Rapid 360° Turn
    • Time Frame: Baseline (preoperative), 3 months post-SNS
    • The test requires patients to make rapid 360° turns on the spot in both directions.

Participating in This Clinical Trial

Inclusion Criteria

  • Idiopathic Parkinson's disease, Hoehn & Yahr stage (medication off condition) at 2~4; – Gait and balance disorder, unstable posture, frequently falls (gaze and fall questionnaire (GFQ) score > 32) and severe dysuria, extremely affects quality of life (overactive bladder score (OABSS) ≥12); – SCS eligibility has been confirmed by neurologist and neurosurgeon; – Patients willingly seek surgical treatment for PD gait disturbance; – Ability to perform a gait/walking task (under close supervision); – Informed consent and have good compliance. Exclusion Criteria:

  • Lesion in spinal nerve or other surgical contraindications; – Severe depression (Beck Depression Inventory scores > 25) or dementia (Mini Mental State Examination < 24); – Medical history of stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or myasthenia gravis; – Other neuropsychiatric disorders or relevant medical history; – Taking prohibited medications (such as lithium, valproate, steroids, adrenergic agonists, etc.); – Cardiac, renal or other important organs hypofunction or dysfunction, or unstable vital signs; – Women reporting that they are pregnant; – Any situation (medical, psychological, social, geographical, etc.) that may endanger patient's life or result in patients withdrawing from the study at present or in the future.

Gender Eligibility: All

Minimum Age: 45 Years

Maximum Age: 70 Years

Are Healthy Volunteers Accepted: No

Investigator Details

  • Lead Sponsor
    • Ruijin Hospital
  • Provider of Information About this Clinical Study
    • Principal Investigator: Bomin Sun, Bomin Sun, Chief physician, Ruijin Hospital – Ruijin Hospital
  • Overall Contact(s)
    • Dianyou Li, MD, +8613817864569, ldy11483@rjh.com.cn

References

Zhang C, Wang L, Pan Y, Sun B, Nonnekes J, Bloem BR, Li D. Sacral nerve stimulation improves gait in Parkinson's disease. Brain Stimul. 2019 Jul-Aug;12(4):1075-1076. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2019.03.074. Epub 2019 Apr 1. No abstract available.

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