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How does the body’s handling of sugar relate to symptoms?

Researchers investigate links between sugar use in the body and Parkinson’s symptoms.

Learning by observing or collecting information · Study reference: NCT05998772

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

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Looking for volunteers

Start (reported actual date)
2023-09-01
Main measurements finished (planned)
2025-12
Study finished (planned)
2025-12

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: * Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease, stage Hoehn \& Yahr 1.5-3 * Ability to pause antiparkinsonian medication in the morning without relevant impairment * Capacity to give consent (determined in doubt by two independent neurologists, MOCA ≥18) and written informed consent. * Patients are between 50 and 80 years of age, with exceptions for a maximum of 5 additional patients enrolled per group * For stratification into patients with and without sweet craving, a 3-day dietary protocol should be completed once by the patients * Group I: increased hunger for sweets. * Group II: no increased hunger for sweets. For the stratification into patients with and without increased hunger for sweets, participants are asked to answer the following questions: 1. Do you have sudden attacks of cravings for sweets? 2. Would you say that your consumption of sweet food has increased in recent years? 3. Would you describe your consumption of sugary food as increased or excessive? If one of the questions is answered with yes, participants will be assigned to group I, if all questions are answered with no, participants will be assigned to group II. Exclusion Criteria: * Other significant neurological diseases primarily affecting the central nervous system (e.g., multiple sclerosis) * Diagnosis of diabetes mellitus or prediabetes * Use of medications that affect glucose metabolism, such as antidiabetics, glucocorticoids, ciclosporin, tacrolimus, sirolimus, beta-blockers, thiazide diuretics, beta-2 adrenoreceptor agonists, theophylline, Clozapine, olanzapine, paliperidone, quetiapine, risperidone, tricyclic antidepressants, mirtazapine, mianserin, carbamazepine, gabapentin, pregabalin, valproic acid, lithium, antiretroviral drugs, statins * cardiac or brain pacemakers
Full study name & original research details

Official study title

Influence of Glucose on Metabolism and Clinical Symptoms of Patients With Parkinson's Disease

Original description

Many patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) report an increased consumption of fast-acting sugars. This tendency to consume sweet, high-sugar foods occurs in some patients even before the onset of cardinal motor symptoms. Some recent studies have demonstrated that PD patients have an increased consumption of fast-acting carbohydrates compared to healthy controls. However, the reason for this change in eating behavior has not yet been adequately explained. It is discussed that the increased sugar intake leads to an increased dopamine release in the brain via an increase in insulin and thus to an improvement in clinical symptoms. This study investigates the influence of fast-acting carbohydrates on insulin and glucose blood levels as well as motor and non-motor symptoms in patients with PD using an oral glucose tolerance test and a placebo oral glucose tolerance test in a crossover design.

Conditions reported: Parkinson Disease; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Sugar Intake

Registry records for this study

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

Study type
Observational
Interventions
Oral Glucose Tolerance Test; Placebo Oral Glucose Tolerance Test
Phases
Not reported
Sponsor
University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein
Start date reported by registry
2023-09-01 (actual)

Registry updated: 2025-09-22 · Status last verified by the registry submitter: 2025-09

Registry records retrieved 2026-10-13 (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.

Eva Schäffer, MD · 004943150023983 · eva.schaeffer@uksh.de

Julienne Haas, MD · julienne.haas@uksh.de

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.

Department for Neurology, University of Kiel

Kiel, Germany

Recruiting

Eva Schäffer, Dr. · 004943150023983 · eva.schaeffer@uksh.de

Facility not reported

Germany

Status not reported

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