Methylphenidate for Apathy in Veterans With Parkinson's Disease
Status:
Not yet recruiting
Trial end date:
2028-06-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Apathy is one of the most common behavioral symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Patients with
apathy show diminution in motivation and goal-directed behaviors, which is a fundamental
aspect of human functioning, affecting dependency and quality of life. Although apathy is
thought to be potentially treatable currently there are no effective treatments for apathy.
Given the higher incidence of medical and psychiatric comorbidities, the Veterans Affairs
health system represents a unique population for which medication response may be different
from the general population. This study aims to evaluate if a medication that has already
been proven to be useful in Alzheimer's disease patients with apathy, could be helpful in
Parkinson's disease as well as decreasing its debilitating consequences and reducing
patients' dependency on caregivers, providing well-deserved relief to patients and their
loved ones.