The Effect of Eye Exercises on Motor Performance, Balance, and Fall Risk in Parkinson's Disease

NCT07525973 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: PA26PKD-2-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 34
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The objective of the trial is to assess key areas of uncertainty regarding the use of synchronous home-based tele eye exercises in future practice and research for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), including issues relating to feasibility, safety, and potential for efficacy on motor performance, balance, and fall risk.

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Keywords

Parkinson disease; Eye exercises; Oculomotor training; Visual exercises; Balance; Fall risk; Motor performance; Tele-exercise; Home-based exercise

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in balance

  Balance will be assessed from baseline to week 8 using a standardized clinical balance measure such as the Berg Balance Scale and/or the Mini-BESTest. Recent Parkinson's disease exercise syntheses have used BBS, MiniBESTest, and TUG as core balance and mobility outcomes, and a 2024 eye-movement training trial in Parkinson's disease used BBS and FSST to capture balance-related change.

  Baseline and Week 8

• Change in functional mobility and fall risk

  Functional mobility and fall risk will be assessed from baseline to week 8 using the Timed Up and Go test, with falls-related self-efficacy and actual falls recorded if feasible. Recent Parkinson's disease studies and reviews identify TUG, falls, and near-falls as relevant measures of mobility and fall risk.

  Baseline and Week 8

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Change in walking capacity

  Baseline and Week 8

• Change in eye-movement performance

  Baseline and Week 8

Study Arms (2)

Eye Exercise group

EXPERIMENTAL

The participants in the study group will be given an online personalized eye exercise program at home. Each session will be 30 to 45 min in duration for 3 days per week over 8 weeks, 24 sessions in total.

Behavioral: Home based Eye Exercises

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

Patients allocated to the control group will receive their standard neurological care. Through the 8-week period, all control participants will be instructed to maintain the standard treatment regimen and to maintain their customary dietary and physical activity patterns.

Interventions

Home based Eye Exercises BEHAVIORAL

The participants in the study group will be given an online personalized eye exercise program at home. Synchronous tele-exercise will be delivered using the free teleconference application (app) (Google Meets software). The groups of tele-exercises will be private and the professional will send the link for each training session and will control the access of the participants. Each session will be 30 to 45 min in duration for 3 days per week over 8 weeks, 24 sessions in total. The program includes progressive oculomotor exercises such as horizontal/vertical saccades to targets, smooth pursuit tracking, vergence (near-far focus shifts), fixation stability, and combined eye-head movements, with progression in speed, amplitude, and complexity.

Eye Exercise group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 80 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Aged 18 years and over
• Clinically diagnosed idiopathic Parkinson's disease (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1-3)
• Stable antiparkinsonian medication regimen for at least 1 month
• Able to walk independently or with minimal assistance (cane/walker allowed)
• Permission from their neurologist
• Have decision-making capacity to enable them to give informed consent to take part in the study
• Have access to a smart device (e.g., smartphone, laptop, or tablet) and internet access

You may not qualify if:

• Unstable cardiac status (angina, decompensated congestive heart failure, severe arrhythmias, etc.)
• Active infection or acute medical illness
• Hemodynamic instability
• Severe cognitive impairment (Mini-Mental State Examination \< 24)
• Unable to exercise (lower extremity amputation without prosthesis or severe musculoskeletal pain at rest/minimal activity)
• Recent fall resulting in fracture or hospitalization (within 3 months)
• Unstable PD treatment or changing (titrating) medication regime
• Myocardial infarction or stroke within past 3 months
• Severe visual impairment not correctable with glasses

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Pardis Specialized Wellness Institute: lead

Study Sites (1)

Pardis specialized wellness institute

Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

Location

Related Publications (12)

• Zhu J, Cui Y, Zhang J, Yan R, Su D, Zhao D, Wang A, Feng T. Temporal trends in the prevalence of Parkinson's disease from 1980 to 2023: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Healthy Longev. 2024 Jul;5(7):e464-e479. doi: 10.1016/S2666-7568(24)00094-1.

  PMID: 38945129 BACKGROUND

• Niering M, Wirth C, Beurskens R, Ueding E, Fischer T, Seifert J. Effects of a treadmill and oculomotor dual-task intervention vs. -nordic walking on balance in Parkinson's disease patients - a pilot study. Clin Park Relat Disord. 2025 Sep 8;13:100392. doi: 10.1016/j.prdoa.2025.100392. eCollection 2025.

  PMID: 41492353 BACKGROUND

• Su D, Cui Y, He C, Yin P, Bai R, Zhu J, Lam JST, Zhang J, Yan R, Zheng X, Wu J, Zhao D, Wang A, Zhou M, Feng T. Projections for prevalence of Parkinson's disease and its driving factors in 195 countries and territories to 2050: modelling study of Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. BMJ. 2025 Mar 5;388:e080952. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2024-080952.

  PMID: 40044233 BACKGROUND

• Bailo G, Saibene FL, Bandini V, Arcuri P, Salvatore A, Meloni M, Castagna A, Navarro J, Lencioni T, Ferrarin M, Carpinella I. Characterization of Walking in Mild Parkinson's Disease: Reliability, Validity and Discriminant Ability of the Six-Minute Walk Test Instrumented with a Single Inertial Sensor. Sensors (Basel). 2024 Jan 20;24(2):662. doi: 10.3390/s24020662.

  PMID: 38276354 BACKGROUND

• Culicetto L, Cardile D, Marafioti G, Lo Buono V, Ferraioli F, Massimino S, Di Lorenzo G, Sorbera C, Brigandi A, Vicario CM, Quartarone A, Marino S. Recent advances (2022-2024) in eye-tracking for Parkinson's disease: a promising tool for diagnosing and monitoring symptoms. Front Aging Neurosci. 2025 May 21;17:1534073. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1534073. eCollection 2025.

  PMID: 40469846 BACKGROUND

• Lorenzo-Garcia P, Cavero-Redondo I, Nunez de Arenas-Arroyo S, Guzman-Pavon MJ, Priego-Jimenez S, Alvarez-Bueno C. Effects of physical exercise interventions on balance, postural stability and general mobility in Parkinson's disease: a network meta-analysis. J Rehabil Med. 2024 Feb 1;56:jrm10329. doi: 10.2340/jrm.v56.10329.

  PMID: 38298133 BACKGROUND

• Yang Y, Wang G, Zhang S, Wang H, Zhou W, Ren F, Liang H, Wu D, Ji X, Hashimoto M, Wei J. Efficacy and evaluation of therapeutic exercises on adults with Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. BMC Geriatr. 2022 Oct 21;22(1):813. doi: 10.1186/s12877-022-03510-9.

  PMID: 36271367 BACKGROUND

• Waterston JA, Hawken MB, Tanyeri S, Jantti P, Kennard C. Influence of sensory manipulation on postural control in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1993 Dec;56(12):1276-81. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.56.12.1276.

  PMID: 8270927 BACKGROUND

• Liu WY, Tung TH, Zhang C, Shi L. Systematic review for the prevention and management of falls and fear of falling in patients with Parkinson's disease. Brain Behav. 2022 Aug;12(8):e2690. doi: 10.1002/brb3.2690. Epub 2022 Jul 14.

  PMID: 35837986 BACKGROUND

• Ernst M, Folkerts AK, Gollan R, Lieker E, Caro-Valenzuela J, Adams A, Cryns N, Monsef I, Dresen A, Roheger M, Eggers C, Skoetz N, Kalbe E. Physical exercise for people with Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Jan 5;1(1):CD013856. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013856.pub2.

  PMID: 36602886 BACKGROUND

• Mildner S, Hotz I, Kubler F, Rausch L, Stampfer-Kountchev M, Panzl J, Brenneis C, Seebacher B. Effects of activity-oriented physiotherapy with and without eye movement training on dynamic balance, functional mobility, and eye movements in patients with Parkinson's disease: An assessor-blinded randomised controlled pilot trial. PLoS One. 2024 Jun 14;19(6):e0304788. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304788. eCollection 2024.

  PMID: 38875243 BACKGROUND

• Yang R, Sun M, Chen W, Feng H, Chen B, Liu Y, He Q, Wang L, Zou C, Luo X, Li Z, Fu A, Qiao F, Tang H, Yang J, Ren H. Global, regional and national burden of Parkinson's disease, 1990-2021: Update from the GBD 2021 study. J Neurol Sci. 2026 Jan 15;480:125703. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2025.125703. Epub 2025 Dec 18.

  PMID: 41435482 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Parkinsonian Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Movement Disorders; Synucleinopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases

Central Study Contacts

Nasrin Salimian

CONTACT

+989132-51202; statisrin@gmail.com

Mohammad Ali Tabibi, Dr

CONTACT

+989133184624; m.tabibi@ut.ac.ir

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: A research project collaborator who is not informed about grouping of participants will obtain outcome measurements of the functional tests. Outcome adjudicators and data analysts will be kept blinded to the allocation. Moreover, all investigators, staff, and participants will be kept masked to outcome measurements and trial results.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Participants will be randomly allocated to intervention group or control group and will be examined in the same way.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 6, 2026
• First Posted: April 13, 2026
• Study Start: May 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Last Updated: April 13, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: SAP
• Time Frame: The data will be available after the paper is published. No end date.
• Access Criteria: Not applicable. It will be accessible for public.

Locations

IR (1)