scholarly journals Motor–Cognitive Treadmill Training With Virtual Reality in Parkinson’s Disease: The Effect of Training Duration

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Pelosin ◽  
Chiara Ponte ◽  
Martina Putzolu ◽  
Giovanna Lagravinese ◽  
Jeffrey M. Hausdorff ◽  
...  

Treadmill training with virtual reality (TT + VR) has been shown to improve gait performance and to reduce fall risk in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, there is no consensus on the optimal training duration. This study is a sub-study of the V-TIME randomized clinical trial (NCT01732653). In this study, we explored the effect of the duration of training based on the motor–cognitive interaction on motor and cognitive performance and on fall risk in subjects with PD. Patients in Hoehn and Yahr stages II–III, aged between 40 and 70 years, were included. In total, 96 patients with PD were assigned to 6 or 12 weeks of TT + VR intervention, and 77 patients completed the full protocol. Outcome measures for gait and cognitive performance were assessed at baseline, immediately after training, and at 1- and 6-month follow-up. The incident rate of falls in the 6-month pre-intervention was compared with that in the 6-month post-intervention. Dual-task gait performance (gait speed, gait speed variability and stride length under cognitive dual task and obstacle negotiation, and the leading foot clearance in obstacle negotiation) improved similarly in both groups with gains sustained at 6-month follow-up. A higher decrease in fall rate and fear of falling were observed in participants assigned to the 12-week intervention than the 6-week intervention. Improvements in cognitive functions (i.e., executive functions, visuospatial ability, and attention) were seen only in participants enrolled in 12-week training up to 1-month follow-up but vanished at the 6-month evaluation. Our results suggest that a longer TT + VR training leads to greater improvements in cognitive functions especially those directly addressed by the virtual environment.

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-426
Author(s):  
Hsiu-Chen Chang ◽  
Chiung-Chu Chen ◽  
Yi-Hsin Weng ◽  
Wei-Da Chiou ◽  
Ya-Ju Chang ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have suggested that cognitive-motor dual-task (DT) training might improve gait performance, locomotion automaticity, balance, and cognition in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the efficacy of cognitive-cycling DT training in patients with early-stage PD. METHODS: Participants were scheduled to perform cognitive tasks simultaneously with the cycling training twice per week for eight weeks for a total of 16 sessions during their on-states. Clinical assessments were conducted using the unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale (UPDRS), modified Hoehn and Yahr stage, Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, gait and cognitive performances under dual-task paradigm, the new freezing of gait questionnaire, Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living scale, 39-item Parkinson’s disease questionnaire, and cognitive performance. RESULTS: Thirteen eligible patients were enrolled in the study. The mean age was 60.64±5.32 years, and the mean disease duration was 7.02±3.23 years. Twelve PD patients completed 16 serial cognitive-cycling sessions for two months. After 16 sessions of training (T2), the UPDRS III scores improved significantly in both the off- and on-states, and TUG were significantly less than those at pretraining (T0). During both the single-task and the DT situations, gait performance and spatial memory cognitive performance significantly improved from T0 to T2. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that cognitive-cycling DT training improves the motor functions, gait and cognitive performances of PD patients.


Gerontology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 604-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Tay ◽  
Wee Shiong Lim ◽  
Mark Chan ◽  
Noorhazlina Ali ◽  
Mei Sian Chong

Background: Gait disorders are common in early dementia, with particularly pronounced dual-task deficits, contributing to the increased fall risk and mobility decline associated with cognitive impairment. Objective: This study examines the effects of a combined cognitive stimulation and physical exercise programme (MINDVital) on gait performance under single- and dual-task conditions in older adults with mild dementia. Methods: Thirty-nine patients with early dementia participated in a multi-disciplinary rehabilitation programme comprising both physical exercise and cognitive stimulation. The programme was conducted in 8-week cycles with participants attending once weekly, and all participants completed 2 successive cycles. Cognitive, functional performance and behavioural symptoms were assessed at baseline and at the end of each 8-week cycle. Gait speed was examined under both single- (Timed Up and Go and 6-metre walk tests) and dual-task (animal category and serial counting) conditions. A random effects model was performed for the independent effect of MINDVital on the primary outcome variable of gait speed under dual-task conditions. Results: The mean age of patients enroled in the rehabilitation programme was 79 ± 6.2 years; 25 (64.1%) had a diagnosis of Alzheimer's dementia, and 26 (66.7%) were receiving a cognitive enhancer therapy. There was a significant improvement in cognitive performance [random effects coefficient (standard error) = 0.90 (0.31), p = 0.003] and gait speed under both dual-task situations [animal category: random effects coefficient = 0.04 (0.02), p = 0.039; serial counting: random effects coefficient = 0.05 (0.02), p = 0.013], with reduced dual-task cost for gait speed [serial counting: random effects coefficient = -4.05 (2.35), p = 0.086] following successive MINDVital cycles. No significant improvement in single-task gait speed was observed. Improved cognitive performance over time was a significant determinant of changes in dual-task gait speed [random effects coefficients = 0.01 (0.005), p = 0.048, and 0.02 (0.005), p = 0.003 for category fluency and counting backwards, respectively]. Conclusion: A combined physical and cognitive rehabilitation programme leads to significant improvements in dual-task walking in early dementia, which may be contributed by improvement in cognitive performance, as single-task gait performance remained stable.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 287-288
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Hausdorff ◽  
Nofar Schneider ◽  
Marina Brozgol ◽  
Pablo Cornejo Thumm ◽  
Nir Giladi ◽  
...  

Abstract The simultaneous performance of a secondary task while walking (i.e., dual tasking) increases motor-cognitive interference and fall risk in older adults. Combining transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with the concurrent performance of a task that putatively involves the same brain networks targeted by the tDCS may reduce the negative impact of dual-tasking on walking. We examined whether tDCS applied while walking reduces the dual-task costs to gait and whether this combination is better than tDCS alone or walking alone (with sham stimulation). In 25 healthy older adults (aged 75.7±10.5yrs), a double-blind, within-subject, cross-over pilot study evaluated the acute after-effects of 20 minutes of tDCS targeting the primary motor cortex and the dorsal lateral pre frontal cortex during three separate sessions:1) tDCS while walking on a treadmill in a virtual-reality environment (tDCS+walking), 2) tDCS while seated (tDCS+seated), and 3) walking in the virtual-reality environment with sham tDCS (sham+walking). The complex walking condition taxed motor and cognitive abilities. During each session, single- and dual-task walking and cognitive function were assessed before and immediately after stimulation. Compared to pre-tDCS performance, tDCS+walking reduced the dual-task cost to gait speed (p=0.004) and other gait features (e.g., variability p=0.02), and improved (p<0.001) executive function (Stroop interference score). tDCS+seated and sham+walking did not affect the dual-task cost to gait speed (p>0.17). These initial findings demonstrate that tDCS delivered during challenging walking ameliorates dual-task gait and executive function in older adults, suggesting that the concurrent performance of related tasks enhances the efficacy of the neural stimulation and mobility.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 579
Author(s):  
Deborah Talamonti ◽  
Thomas Vincent ◽  
Sarah Fraser ◽  
Anil Nigam ◽  
Frédéric Lesage ◽  
...  

Cardiovascular fitness is linked to better executive functions, preserved gait speed, and efficient cortical activity. Older adults with cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) typically show poor cognitive performance, low physical fitness, and altered brain functioning compared with healthy individuals. In the current study, the impact of regular physical activity on cognition, locomotion, and brain functions was explored in a cohort of older adults with low or high CVRFs. Cortical activation of the frontal areas was investigated using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) at baseline, at 6 months and at 12 months. Evoked cortical response and behavioral performance were assessed using the dual-task walking paradigm, consisting of three conditions: single cognitive task (2-back task), single walking task (walking), and dual-task (2-back whilst walking). Results show greater task-related cortical response at baseline in individuals with high CVRFs compared to those with low CVRFs. Moreover, participants with high CVRFs benefitted the most from participating in regular physical activity, as their cortical response decreased at the 12-month follow-up and became comparable to that of participants with low CVRFs. These changes were observed in conjunction with improved cognitive performance and stable gait speed throughout the 12-month period in both groups. Our findings provide evidence that participation in regular physical activity may be especially beneficial in individuals with CVRFs by promoting brain and cognitive health, thus potentially contributing to prevention of cognitive decline. Future research may explore whether such effects are maintained in the long-term in order to design ad-hoc interventions in this specific population.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heiko Gaßner ◽  
Franz Marxreiter ◽  
Simon Steib ◽  
Zacharias Kohl ◽  
Johannes C. M. Schlachetzki ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S335-S335
Author(s):  
Inbar Hillel ◽  
Laura Avanzino ◽  
Andrea Cereatti ◽  
Marcel Olde Rikkert ◽  
Silvia Del Din ◽  
...  

Abstract We compared in-lab usual-walking (UW) and dual-task walking (DTW) to daily-living measures of gait obtained during 24/7 monitoring. In-lab gait features (e.g., gait speed, step and stride regularity) derived from UW and DTW were compared to the same gait features during daily-living in 150 elderly fallers (age: 76.5±6.3 years, 37.6% men). Features were extracted from a lower-back accelerometer. In daily-living setting, subjects wore the device for one week and pre-processing detected 30-second walking bouts. A histogram of all walking bouts was determined for each walking feature for each subject, then each subject’s typical, worst and best values were determined. Statistics of reliability were assessed using ICC and Bland-Altman. As expected, in-lab gait speed, step regularity, and stride regularity were worse during DTW, compared to UW. Gait speed, step regularity, and stride regularity during UW were significantly higher (i.e., better) from the typical daily-living values (p<0.0001) and different (p<0.000) from the worst and best values. DTW values tended to be similar to typical daily-living values (p=0.205, p=0.053, p=0.013 respectively). ICC assessment and Bland-Altman plots indicated that in-lab values do not reliably reflect the daily-walking values. Gait values during relatively long daily-living walking bouts are more similar to the corresponding values obtained in the lab during DTW, as compared to UW. Still, gait performance during most daily-living walking bouts are worse than that measured in-lab and do not reliably reflect each other. That is, an older adult’s typical daily-living gait cannot be estimated by simply measuring walking in a structured, laboratory setting.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Morenilla ◽  
Gonzalo Márquez ◽  
José Andrés Sánchez ◽  
Olalla Bello ◽  
Virginia López-Alonso ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Se Hee Jung ◽  
Naoya Hasegawa ◽  
Martina Mancini ◽  
Laurie A. King ◽  
Patricia Carlson-Kuhta ◽  
...  

Abstract Few exercise interventions practice both gait and balance tasks with cognitive tasks to improve functional mobility in people with PD. We aimed to investigate whether the Agility Boot Camp with Cognitive Challenge (ABC-C), that simultaneously targets both mobility and cognitive function, improves dynamic balance and dual-task gait in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). We used a cross-over, single-blind, randomized controlled trial to determine efficacy of the exercise intervention. Eighty-six people with idiopathic PD were randomized into either an exercise (ABC-C)-first or an active, placebo, education-first intervention and then crossed over to the other intervention. Both interventions were carried out in small groups led by a certified exercise trainer (90-min sessions, 3 times a week, for 6 weeks). Outcome measures were assessed Off levodopa at baseline and after the first and second interventions. A linear mixed-effects model tested the treatment effects on the Mini-BESTest for balance, dual-task cost on gait speed, SCOPA-COG, the UPDRS Parts II and III and the PDQ-39. Although no significant treatment effects were observed for the Mini-BESTest, SCOPA-COG or MDS-UPDRS Part III, the ABC-C intervention significantly improved the following outcomes: anticipatory postural adjustment sub-score of the Mini-BESTest (p = 0.004), dual-task cost on gait speed (p = 0.001), MDS-UPDRS Part II score (p = 0.01), PIGD sub-score of MDS-UPDRS Part III (p = 0.02), and the activities of daily living domain of the PDQ-39 (p = 0.003). Participants with more severe motor impairment or more severe cognitive dysfunction improved their total Mini-BESTest scores after exercise. The ABC-C exercise intervention can improve specific balance deficits, cognitive-gait interference, and perceived functional independence and quality of life, especially in participants with more severe PD, but a longer period of intervention may be required to improve global cognitive and motor function.


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