---
title: Improve cognition via resistance training
nct_id: NCT04796506
phase: NA
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: University of Colorado, Denver
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT04796506"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04796506"
last_fetched: "2026-05-10T14:04:04.316Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Improve cognition via resistance training

**Goal (in five words):** Improve cognition via resistance training

**Official Title:** Slow Wave Sleep As a Biomarker of Rehabilitation-induced Cognitive Improvement in Parkinson's Disease R01 HD100670

**Trial ID:** [NCT04796506](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04796506)

## Key Facts

- **Phase:** NA
- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Sponsor:** University of Colorado, Denver
- **Target Enrollment:** 120 participants
- **Start Date:** 2021-07-01
- **Completion Date:** 2026-03-31
- **Conditions:** Parkinson Disease
- **Interventions:** Progressive Resistance Training (PRT), Delayed Exercise Training (DE), Endurance Training (ET)
- **Intervention Types:** OTHER

## Summary For Families

They want to know whether targeted exercise can improve thinking and memory in people with mid-stage Parkinson's, and whether increases in slow wave sleep, the deep sleep that helps consolidate memories, can serve as a measurable sign of those brain changes. Participants are randomized to progressive resistance training, aerobic endurance training, or a delayed-exercise group; strength training builds muscle and motor control and promotes brain plasticity, while aerobic training raises heart rate and cardiorespiratory fitness and can deepen slow wave sleep, and the study tracks sleep and cognitive tests to link sleep changes with cognitive benefit. The trial seeks people aged 45 and older with idiopathic PD at Hoehn and Yahr stage 2 or 3, mild cognitive impairment range on the MoCA (scores 18 to 25), on stable medications and able to safely exercise, and excludes those with deep brain stimulation, untreated sleep apnea, regular exercise habits, significant heart or lung disease, or signs of atypical Parkinsonism.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 45 Years
- **Maximum age:** 100 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion:

* clinical diagnosis of idiopathic PD, based on the presence of bradykinesia as well as at least one of the following: rest tremor, rigidity, and/or postural instability (per United Kingdom PD Brain Bank Criteria)
* Hoehn and Yahr stage 2-3 (performed at screening visit)
* age ≥ 45 and
* on stable medications for at least 4 weeks prior to study entry without expecting to change medications for the duration of the study.
* Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score ≥ 18 and \<26 (performed at screening visit)
* No contraindications to an exercise program.

Exclusion:

* fails exercise readiness evaluation at screening visit
* regular participation in an exercise program
* cardiovascular or pulmonary disease, including uncontrolled hypertension, congestive heart failure, unstable coronary artery disease, serious arrhythmia, stroke within the past year, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
* shift workers
* signs indicative of atypical Parkinsonism (cerebellar signs, supranuclear gaze palsy, apraxia, prominent autonomic failure, or other cortical signs)
* secondary Parkinsonism (neuroleptic treatment at time of onset of Parkinsonism or at time of study entry, history of multiple strokes with stepwise progression of Parkinsonism, or history of multiple head injuries)
* inability to walk without assistance
* deep brain stimulation (DBS)
* known narcolepsy
* untreated sleep apnea
* any condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, will preclude the participant from successfully or safely completing study procedures.
```

## Locations (1)

- University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, United States _(39.7294, -104.8319)_
  - Madison Sleyster — (CONTACT) — 303-724-2931 — madison.sleyster@cuanschutz.edu
  - Amy W Amara, MD, PhD — (CONTACT) — 303.724.2194 — amy.amara@cuanschutz.edu

## Central Contacts

- Amy W Amara, MD, PhD — (CONTACT) — 303.724.2194 — amy.amara@cuanschutz.edu

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT04796506*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT04796506*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04796506*