Purpose

Parkinsonism impairs upper airway and axial motor control, leading to disordered breathing, reduced speech volume, and ineffective cough. Symptoms are poorly addressed by current therapies. This randomized pilot trial tests whether a single session of acute intermittent hypercapnic hypoxia (AIHH) or hypercapnic normoxia (AIHN) improves upper airway and axial motor function in Parkinsonism, and explores biomarker correlates of intervention responsiveness.

Conditions

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 40 Years and 75 Years
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  1. adults 40 to 75 years of age (the latter to reduce the likelihood of cardiovascular disease) 2. diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinsonism with Hoehn and Yahr stages 2-4 3. medically stable with physician clearance 4. ability to ambulate at least 10 feet with/without assistance 5. ability to follow directions 6. willing to abstain from blood donation for the duration of the study

Exclusion Criteria

  1. additional neurologic conditions 2. severe illness or infection, including respiratory/cardiovascular/lung disease, or uncontrolled hypertension 3. inspiratory stridor 4. pregnancy due to unknown tAIH effects on a fetus, although females of childbearing age will not be excluded* 5. cigarette smoking or vaping within 5 years 6. history of head/neck/lung cancer with the exception of basal cell carcinoma 7. is currently participating in another research study that could influence the results from this study 8. has deep brain stimulation electrodes implanted or has a history of deep brain stimulation 9. faints or becomes lightheaded at the sight of blood - If a female of childbearing potential indicates there is a chance she could be pregnant, she will be provided a pregnancy test and allowed to continue in the study if negative. This is because the fetal risks associated with intermittent hypoxia are unknown.

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Intervention Model Description
Single blind, randomized parallel study design
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
Single (Participant)
Masking Description
Each arm involves hypercapnia, while only one includes mild hypoxia. The addition of slightly elevated CO2 in each arm facilitates participant blinding.

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Group 1: Acute Intermittent Hypercapnic Hypoxia
Each participant randomly allocated to this arm will breathe brief bouts of mild acute intermittent hypercapnic hypoxia as the intervention, with PRE and POST testing of upper airway, axial function, and blood-based biomarkers.
  • Other: Acute intermittent hypercapnic hypoxia (AIHH)
    Participants randomized to Group 1 will breathe brief bouts of AIHH, involving 15, 1.5-min exposures to 9-10% O2 and 4-5% CO2, alternated with 1 minute of 21% O2 (room air).
Active Comparator
Group 2: Acute Intermittent Hypercapnic Normoxia
Each participant randomly allocated to this arm will breathe brief bouts of mild acute intermittent hypercapnic normoxia as the intervention, with PRE and POST testing of upper airway, axial function, and blood-based biomarkers.
  • Other: Acute intermittent hypercapnic normoxia (AIHN)
    Participants randomized to Group 2 will breathe brief bouts of AIHN, involving 15, 1.5-min exposures to 21% O2 and 4-5% CO2, alternated with 1 minute of 21% O2 (room air).

Recruiting Locations

University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida 32610
Contact:
Michela Mir, CCC-SLP, PhD
352-273-6095
michela.mir@ufl.edu

Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases
Gainesville, Florida 80303-2181
Contact:
Michela Mir, CCC-SLP, PhD
303-827-9875
michela.mir@ufl.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
University of Florida

Study Contact

Michlela Mir, CCC-SLP, PhD
352-273-6095
michela.mir@ufl.edu

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.