Shockwave therapy shows promise for Parkinson's in tiny trial

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Diagnosis of "probable" or "possible" Parkinson's Disease (PD), as defined by the current clinical criteria (52) or as confirmed by a co-investigator neurologist or confirmation via medical records or a letter from a patient's physician. 2. Age from 40 to 90 years old. 3. Disease stages 2 to 4 based on the UPDRS scale subdomain V (or Hoehn and Yahr scale). 4. Taking stable medications for Parkinson's Disease for at least 30 days. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Features suggestive of other causes of parkinsonism/Parkinson's-plus syndromes. 2. History of deep brain stimulation, brain ablation surgeries, or malignant mass brain lesions. 3. History of schizophrenia, bipolar illness, or alcohol/drug abuse within the past six months. 4. Need for rapid clinical response due to conditions such as initiation, psychosis, or suicidality. 5. Contraindications to transcranial brain stimulation (i.e., metal objects in the head, metal implanted brain medical devices, cortisone treatments within six weeks before the first stimulation session, central nervous system (CNS) thrombosis, etc). 6. Unstable medical conditions (e.g., uncontrolled diabetes, uncompensated cardiac issues, heart failure, uncompensated pulmonary disease, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). 7. Contraindications to MRI according to Mass General Brigham screening in the Martinos Center (i.e., pacemaker, defibrillator or wires other than sternal wires, metallic foreign body in the eye, or drug infusion devices - if the models of these devices are not compatible with MRI). 8. Pregnancy. 9. Epilepsy or disorders that significantly increase the likelihood of seizures, including: (i) severe traumatic brain injury; (ii) congenital birth defects leading to seizures; (iii) brain tumor; (iv) metabolic disorders associated with seizures; (v) intracranial or subarachnoid hemorrhage; and (vi) non-lacunar strokes. 10. Bed- or wheelchair-bound patients.