A trial begins with people with Parkinson's disease to improve their mobility

The Health Cures Research Group (GRECS) of the University of Lleida and the Biomedical Research Institute of Lleida (IRBLleida) is starting a clinical trial with people with Parkinson's disease to study their gait by means of a personalised physical exercise training programme. The aim is to train those situations that are complex for people with the disease, such as passing through a pedestrian crossing with many people to avoid, in order to enable them.

"People with Parkinson's disease have very subtle cognitive impairment from the outset, which can worsen as the disease progresses. This deterioration causes people to fall and/or become paralysed when performing several tasks at the same time," explained Helena Fernández Lago, principal investigator of the project and lecturer in the Faculty of Nursing and Physiotherapy at the UdL. For this reason, the trial aims to offer a treatment to alleviate these situations.

Those people who suffer from the disease and wish to participate in this study will take part in a gait rehabilitation programme that is totally individualised to their personal characteristics for a period of 6 weeks. The programme consists of activity on a treadmill. Before and after the programme, the research staff will assess the symptoms of the disease, motor skills and cognitive abilities to know the extent of the intervention. Interested people can contact the research team by email at dif.neurorehab@udl.cat, by telephone on 973 70 2464 or by filling in the form: https://www.irblleida.org/es/formulari-parkinson/.
 
The trial is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III of the Ministry of Science and Innovation (PI20/00403), and has the approval of the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Hospital Universitario Arnau de Vilanova.

Health Cures Research Group
The group is made up of nurses and physiotherapists from clinical practice (University Hospital Santa Maria-GSS, University Hospital Arnau de Vilanova and Primary Care) and teaching staff (University of Lleida). The main areas of research are healthy and active ageing and health services. The Nursing and Health Research Group participates in different projects at national, European and international level.