---
title: Improve walking balance and thinking
nct_id: NCT06868160
phase: NA
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: IRCCS San Raffaele
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06868160"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06868160"
last_fetched: "2026-05-10T14:06:07.416Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Improve walking balance and thinking

**Goal (in five words):** Improve walking balance and thinking

**Official Title:** Neurotech PD Gait: Multisite Non-invasive Electrical Stimulation to Optimize Motor-cognitive Rehabilitation Response in Parkinson's Disease Subjects With Postural Instability and Gait Disorders

**Trial ID:** [NCT06868160](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06868160)

## Key Facts

- **Phase:** NA
- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Sponsor:** IRCCS San Raffaele
- **Target Enrollment:** 71 participants
- **Start Date:** 2025-10-08
- **Completion Date:** 2028-10
- **Conditions:** Parkinson Disease
- **Interventions:** Rehabilitation, SHAM tDCS, tDCS, tsDCS (first cycle), tsDCS (second cycle), SHAM tsDCS (first cycle), SHAM tsDCS (second cycle), SHAM tsDCS
- **Intervention Types:** BEHAVIORAL, DEVICE

## Summary For Families

The goal is to help people with Parkinson's who have postural instability and gait problems improve walking, balance, and the motor-cognitive benefits they get from rehabilitation. The approach pairs painless, low-intensity direct currents to the scalp (tDCS) and over the spinal cord (tsDCS) with rehab exercises, aiming to boost brain and spinal circuit excitability so motor learning and sensorimotor control stick better; sessions include sham controls and the intervention is tested as an add-on while participants remain on stable dopaminergic medication. They are looking for adults 45 to 85 with idiopathic PD of the PIGD type, Hoehn and Yahr stage up to 4, no dementia (MMSE ≥24), stable dopaminergic therapy for at least 4 weeks, and no MRI contraindications or implanted neurostimulation devices.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 45 Years
- **Maximum age:** 85 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion Criteria:

* 45 years \< age ≤ 85 years
* Idiopathic PD according to the Movement Disorders Society (MDS) diagnostic criteria
* Hoehn \& Yahr (H\&Y) score ≤ 4
* PIGD phenotype
* Stable dopaminergic medication for at least 4 weeks and without any changes during the observation period (28 weeks)
* No dementia according to Litvan\'s criteria and Mini-Mental Status Examination score (MMSE) ≥ 24
* No significant tremor/involuntary movements that could determine artifacts during the MRI acquisition
* Oral and written informed consent to study participation

Healthy controls' inclusion criteria:

* Sex-matched and age-matched (age range: mean age of PD years ± 15 years)
* Oral and written informed consent to study participation

Exclusion Criteria:

* Any major systemic, psychiatric, neurological, visual, and musculoskeletal disturbances or other causes of walking inability
* Medical conditions or substance abuse that could interfere with cognition
* Pacemaker or other implanted neurostimulation devices in the head/neck district
* (Other) Contraindications to undergoing MRI examination
* Brain damage at routine MRI, including extensive cerebrovascular disorders
* Denied oral and written informed consent to study participation
* Significant scalp traumatic or surgical wounds or scalp alterations that could determine a risk of infection in the site of non-invasive stimulation or the spread of excessive current from the device (only for patients receiving the neurostimulation).
```

## Locations (1)

- San Raffaele Neurotech Hub, Milan, Italy _(45.4643, 9.1895)_
  - Massimo Filippi, Prof., MD — (CONTACT) — 0226433054 — filippi.massimo@hsr.it

## Central Contacts

- Federica Agosta, PhD, MD — (CONTACT) — 0226433051 — agosta.federica@hsr.it
- Elisabetta Sarasso, MSc — (CONTACT) — 0226434685 — sarasso.elisabetta@hsr.it

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06868160*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06868160*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06868160*