Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

Emory University

Code:

NCT07824128

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Mild Cognitive Impairment

Old Age; Dementia

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Adaptango Performance Process (APP) program

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study is being done to answer the question: How do people with Parkinson's disease, people with Mild Cognitive Impairment, and younger people process difficult topics in conversation? It will also explore themes related to dance, such as community building and justice, as perceived by persons with Parkinson's disease or Mild Cognitive Impairment, and younger individuals before and after the Adaptango performance process.

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Mild Cognitive Impairment

Old Age; Dementia

Study ID

NCT07824128

Start date

Aug 6, 2026

Status verified date

Nov, 2026

Completion date

Sep, 2029

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Sep, 2029

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals (PWP, younger adults, PLwD) from the greater Atlanta area. Those in the PWP group must be diagnosed by a neurologist specialized in Parkinson's disease.
  • Score of at least 18 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Those who are in the PLwD group must score between 18 and 25 on the MoCA.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Acute medical illness requiring hospitalization
  • Uncontrolled congestive heart failure
  • History of stroke in the past three years
  • Inability to perform study procedures
  • Medical or physical conditions that would preclude participation (e.g., severe arthritis or mobility problems, uncontrolled hypertension or diabetes, renal failure, history of angina with activity)
  • Taking medications that could adversely affect cognition, e.g., antipsychotics, opioids, stimulants, chemotherapy, neurologic prescriptions to treat Multiple sclerosis. When applicable, enrollment will be delayed until dosages are stable on, e.g., Aricept, Namenda, anticholinesterase inhibitors, for at least 3 months
  • Psychotic disorders
  • Confounding neurologic conditions \[e.g., active central nervous system (CNS) opportunistic infections, seizure disorders, head injury with loss of consciousness >30 minutes, intracranial neoplasms, stroke with neurological or neuropsychiatric sequelae\]
  • Substance Use Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorders within six months of evaluation
  • Unable to provide informed consent
  • Cognitively impaired individuals or individuals with impaired decision-making, individuals who are not yet adults, pregnant women, prisoners
  • Not able to clearly understand English

Study Design

Enrollment

120 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Non randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Supportive Care

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Healthy adults over 18 and less than 31 years

Healthy adults over 18 and less than 31 years

experimental: Adults with Parkinson's disease (PD) age 50 years and over

Adults with Parkinson's disease aged 50 years and over

experimental: Adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) age 50 years and over

Adults with MCI aged 50 years and over

Interventions

Adaptango Performance Process (APP) program

Participants will take a three-month, biweekly choreographic process, ending in a weekend performance workshop at Emory University.

Tango instructors undergo 13 hours of American Council on Exercise-certified training on Adaptango methods, age-specific functional impairments, and fall detection and prevention. Adaptango modifications were made to the frame and several steps of Argentine tango.

Primary outcome measure

  • Participants' Satisfaction of the intervention (Acceptability) [ Time Frame: Post-intervention at 8 months ]
  • Alternate Uses Task (AUT) [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months (during intervention), and 8 months (post-intervention) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Madeleine E. Hackney, PhD

314-412-4852mehackn@emory.edu

Locations

Emory University, Executive Park, Wesley Woods

Recruiting

Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30329

Contacts

Madeleine E. Hackney, PhD

mehackn@emory.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Emory University

Last update posted

Nov 13, 2026

Last verified

Nov, 2026

Keywords

  • Dance
  • Music
  • Rehabilitation
  • Parkinson's
  • Motor-cognitive integration

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-11-14. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Emory University on 2026-11-13. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.