Recruiting · registry status

Practising walking to a steady beat

Researchers study how stepping to a metronome on a treadmill and over the ground affects walking in Parkinson’s.

Testing a treatment or activity · Study reference: NCT05864157

Plain-language introduction written with AI from the registry; not independently checked by a clinician. Read the original details below ↓

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Start (reported actual date): 2023-08-16
Main measurements finished (planned): 2027-01-01
Study finished (planned): 2027-01-01

Planned dates can move. A study finishing does not tell us when a paper will be published.

No results summary has been confirmed in the registry records we imported. See connected papers below; we keep checking after recruitment ends.

Changes we have recorded

2026-10-11 — recruiting

These are dates we observed a change, not necessarily the dates it happened.

Papers connected to this study

No connected paper has been found yet. The tracker checks the growing library for study identifiers and registry-linked publications.

Who can join?

Ages 50 years to 80 years · Does not accept healthy volunteers

These are starting points, not the full rules. The research team can tell you whether the study is right for your situation.

Read all the rules for taking part

Sex eligibility reported by registry: all

Inclusion Criteria: * idiopathic Parkinson's disease (Hoehn and Yahr Stage 2-3) * self-report the ability to walk uninterrupted for 10 minutes both overground and on a treadmill without therapist assistance * comfortable gait speed \> 0.4 m/s and \< 1.2 m/s * normal (or corrected to normal \[i.e., hearing aid\]) hearing * deficits in gait continuity (e.g., shuffling, shortened strides, freezing, festination, bradykinesia, etc) based on observational gait analysis * Movement Disorders Society - Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS-III) item 10 ≥1 and \<3 * be on stable doses of orally-administered levodopa * age 50-80 years old Exclusion Criteria: * contraindications to MRI (e.g., metal implants, claustrophobia, etc) * cognitive deficits (Montreal Cognitive Assessment \[MoCA\] \< 26) * concurrent Physical Therapy * have undergone deep brain stimulation surgery * cannot walk without therapist assistance * uncontrolled cardiorespiratory/metabolic disease, or other neurological disorders or orthopedic injury that may affect gait.

Full study name & original research details

Official study title

Targeted Motor Learning to Improve Gait for Individuals With Parkinson Disease

Original description

The purpose of this research study is to determine how training to step with a metronome on both a treadmill, as well as overground, will influence the way that people with Parkinson disease walk. Using metronomes is commonly used in clinics, but the investigators will be using a combination of slow and fast frequencies to alter the way that people walk. The use of a slower frequency metronome on the treadmill is intended to help participants take larger steps. The use of a faster frequency metronome while walking overground is intended to help participants take faster steps.This will take place over 12 training sessions. Each session will be about an hour. It will include some walking tests and pictures of the brain (using MRI) before and after training.

Further description from the registry

Some details regarding the metronome frequency are purposely omitted at this time to preserve scientific integrity. They will be included after the trial is complete

Conditions reported: Parkinson Disease

Registry records for this study

Records are joined using registration identifiers. Titles alone do not establish that two studies are the same.

ClinicalTrials.gov · NCT05864157 ↗ — RECRUITING; checked 2026-10-11
ClinicalTrials.gov · NCT05864157 ↗ — Recruiting; WHO ICTRP processed 2026-07-13; checked 2026-10-11

Study type: Interventional
Interventions: Gait training without rhythmic auditory cues; TRAC; dTRAC
Phases: NA
Sponsor: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Start date reported by registry: 2023-08-16 (actual)

Registry updated: 2026-06-25 · Status last verified by the registry submitter: 2026-06

Registry records retrieved 2026-10-11 (UTC). Individual records may have older updates. Recruitment and eligibility must be confirmed with the study team.

Contact the research team

Public study contacts supplied to the registry. Ask whether recruitment is still open and what participation involves.

Mike Lewek, PT, PhD · 919-966-4041 · mlewek@med.unc.edu

Study locations

Site status can differ from overall study status. “Status not reported” means local availability needs confirmation. Remote participation and travel arrangements must be checked with the team.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

Recruiting

Michael Lewek, PT, PhD

Facility not reported

United States

Status not reported

The original descriptions and participation rules come from the registry. Participation is voluntary and does not guarantee benefit.