--- title: Can music therapy reduce anxiety nct_id: NCT07734181 phase: NA status: RECRUITING sponsor: Siegward -M. Elsas study_type: INTERVENTIONAL canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT07734181" clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07734181" last_fetched: "2026-07-29T14:01:07.964Z" source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)" --- # Can music therapy reduce anxiety **Goal (in five words):** Can music therapy reduce anxiety **Official Title:** Harmonization of Breathing Through Music Therapy and Its Impact on Anxiety, Quality of Life, and Autonomic Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease **Trial ID:** [NCT07734181](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07734181) ## Key Facts - **Phase:** NA - **Status:** RECRUITING - **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL - **Sponsor:** Siegward -M. Elsas - **Target Enrollment:** 50 participants - **Start Date:** 2026-06-02 - **Completion Date:** 2028-09-01 - **Conditions:** Parkinson's Disease (PD) - **Interventions:** Music therapy - **Intervention Types:** OTHER - **Registry Record Last Updated:** 2026-07-29 (this month) ## Summary For Families The goal is to see whether one-on-one music therapy, using slow, gentle bowing of a string instrument together with the therapist singing and playing a lyre, can relax people with Parkinson's, lower anxiety, improve quality of life, and help automatic body functions like unstable blood pressure. The approach is those live music sessions and measuring effects with questionnaires for anxiety, motivation, depression, quality of life, and autonomic symptoms, plus physical measures such as heart rate variability (the normal slight changes in time between heartbeats), blood pressure stability, tremor intensity, walking ability, and brain activity recorded by electroencephalography. A smaller part of the project will test whether listening to emotionally powerful music changes brain activity and heart rate variability, with emotional reaction tracked by a questionnaire called the Geneva Emotional Music Scale. The trial is recruiting people aged 50 to 79 with Parkinson's at stages 1 to 4 who understand German and can give consent; people who had music therapy in the past year, have severe hearing loss, dementia (MoCA score under 20), severe physical or psychiatric illness, or are already in another Parkinson's treatment trial are excluded. **Estimated commitment:** Lower commitment estimated from the protocol. This reflects time and procedures only — confirm details with the study coordinator. ## What This Actually Involves **Placebo** _(From the protocol)_: Everyone in this trial receives the experimental treatment. There is no placebo group. **Visits** _(Ask the coordinator)_: Ask the coordinator how many in-person visits the study involves, how long each one takes, and over what total period. **Procedures** _(From the protocol)_: - Questionnaires & surveys (Non-invasive) > "Motivation, depression, individual quality of life, and severity of autonomic symptoms are also assessed using validated questionnaires." - Brain wave recording (EEG) (Non-invasive) > "Physical study measures will be HRV, along with stability of blood pressure, intensity of tremor, ability to walk, and also electroencephalography (EEG) to assess brain activity." **Washout** _(Ask the coordinator)_: Ask the coordinator whether you would need to stop or pause any of your current medications before or during the study (a washout period), and for how long. **Travel & reimbursement** _(Ask the coordinator)_: Ask the coordinator whether travel, parking, or your time is reimbursed or compensated, and what is covered. _Fields marked “From the protocol” come from the trial's registry record or quoted protocol text. Fields marked “Ask the coordinator” are not reliably available and should be confirmed directly._ ## Eligibility at a Glance Key requirements found in this trial's official criteria, in plain language. Only what the listing states is shown; the study team makes the final call. - **Disease stage:** Hoehn and Yahr stage 1 to 4 - **Thinking test (MoCA):** MoCA memory and thinking score of at least 20 (criteria text: "Manifest dementia (MoCA \< 20)") ## Do I Likely Qualify? — Self-Check Dimensions The trial page offers an interactive self-check built from this trial's parsed criteria. It covers these dimensions; anything the criteria don't state clearly is answered "ask the study coordinator", never assumed. - This trial enrolls people aged 50 to 79. - This trial requires Hoehn and Yahr stage 1 to 4. - This trial requires a MoCA thinking-test score of at least 20. ## Eligibility - **Minimum age:** 50 Years - **Maximum age:** 79 Years - **Sex:** ALL ### Full Criteria ``` Inclusion Criteria: * Parkinson's disease, Hoehn and Yahr stages 1-4 * good understanding of the German language * Signed written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Previous music therapy within the last 12 months * Severe hearing impairment * Manifest dementia (MoCA \< 20) * Severe physical disability * Severe somatic or psychiatric illness * Concurrent participation in another clinical trial targeting treatment of Parkinson's disease ``` ## Locations (1) - Klinik Arlesheim AG, Arlesheim, Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland _(47.4941, 7.6198)_ - Siegward Elsas, Dr. med., (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR) ## Central Contacts - Siegward Elsas, Dr. med., (CONTACT), +41 61 705 71 13, Siegward.Elsas@klinik-arlesheim.ch - Tiffany Huber, Msc., (CONTACT), +41 61 705 71 55, tiffany.huber@klinik-arlesheim.ch ## Making Contact: How to Call This Study Site ### Who to ask for Ask for the study coordinator. Some sites call this person the research coordinator. They are the right person for questions about joining a study. If you reach a front desk or a doctor's office scheduler, ask them to connect you with the research team for this study. ### What to say It is fine to read this out loud, word for word: > Hello, my name is ____. I am calling about a Parkinson's study at your site. The study number is NCT07734181. It is the one about "Can music therapy reduce anxiety". Could I speak with the study coordinator about taking part? If you are calling for a family member, use their name and mention that you help with their care. ### What they will ask you - The year of diagnosis - Current medications and their doses - Other health conditions - Any procedures already done, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) - How far you are able to travel for study visits - Whether a care partner can come to visits with you ### What to have ready - A written list of current medications and doses - Your neurologist's name and phone number - The diagnosis date. The year is enough. - A recent visit summary from the neurologist, if you have one ### What to ask them - How many visits are there, and how long does each visit take? - Is travel, parking, or my time reimbursed? - Is there a placebo group, and what is my chance of being in it? The listing already answers this: Everyone in this trial receives the experimental treatment. There is no placebo group. Ask the coordinator to confirm it still applies. - Would I need to stop or pause any of my current medications? - What happens when the study ends? Could I stay on the treatment if it helps? ### What to expect - Expect to wait a few days for a callback. A week is common. Calling or emailing again after that is fine and normal. - Many callers do not end up joining. Screening out is common and is not a judgment about you or your health. - Asking questions commits you to nothing. You can stop the process at any point. --- *Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT07734181* *HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT07734181* *Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07734181*