Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT01162226

Computer-Based Balance Training for People With Parkinson's Disease

This study will be carried out to determine the effectiveness of in-home computer games played by a person with Parkinson's disease for 50 minutes 3 times a week on measures of standing and walking balance.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Parkinson's Disease Basal Ganglia Diseases Brain Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Movement Disorders Nervous System Diseases Neurodegenerative Diseases Parkinson Disease Parkinsonian Disorders Synucleinopathies

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 2

Primary location

University of California, San Francisco

San Francisco, California, 94143-0610, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • presence of bradykinesia along with at least one of the following: muscular rigidity, 4-6 Hz rest tremor, and postural instability (Gelb, Oliver, & Gilman, 1999; Hughes, Ben-Shlomo, Daniel, & Lees, 1992).
  • Hoehn & Yahr disease Stage 1 (unilateral disease) to 3 (mild to moderate bilateral disease, physically independent) (Fahn and Elton, 1987).

Exclusion criteria

  • history of strokes, repeated head injury, encephalitis, oculogyric crises, neuroleptic treatment, MPTP exposure, more than one affected relative, sustained remission, strictly unilateral features after 3 years, supranuclear gaze palsy, early severe autonomic involvement or dementia, Babinski sign, tumor, or a negative response to L-DOPA (Hughes et al., 1992).
  • other neurologic, orthopedic or cardiac problems, cognitive impairment as evidenced by 5 or more errors on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) (Folstein, Folstein, & McHugh, 1975)
  • visual or hearing impairments serious enough to interfere with their ability to interact with the computer-based training program.

Treatment and study plan

gait and balance training program

Behavioral

The intervention will be implemented via three 50-minute training sessions per week for 12 weeks. The games will be played when the subject is receiving the maximum benefit from their anti-parkinsonian medications. The control group and the intervention group will receive weekly telephone calls to inquire about medications and falls. At baseline and end of the 12 weeks, in-home testing will determine stride length and speed; standing balance eyes open and closed on flat and foam surface.

Primary outcomes

  1. gait

    Time frame: 3 months

    Gait velocity and stride length will be measured with WriteStep Gait and Mobility pads (Abilitations). For the gait analysis, subjects will walk along a 10 foot walkway (gait velocity) that will record the footprint patterns from which we will evaluate the time it takes to walk the distance of the walkway and the average stride length. Each subject will walk according to standard protocol of 1 trial at his/her self-selected speed to enable an accurate representation of usual gait.

  2. balance

    Time frame: 3 months

    Balance will be objectively measured using the modified Clinical Test for Sensory Interaction and Balance (CTSIB) (Shumway-Cook & Horak, 1986). There are 2 conditions with a stable platform (eyes open and eyes closed) and 2 conditions on a less stable foam surface, (eyes open and eyes closed). Following the standardized protocol, subjects will be tested 3 times in each condition on the stable surface and 3 times in each unstable condition for up to thirty seconds each. The number of seconds standing will be summed across all 12 trials for a range of 0-360 seconds.

Secondary outcomes

  1. falls

    Time frame: weeks 1-12

    Weekly phone inquiry will quantify number of falls if any, during the past week.

  2. overall functional status

    Time frame: 3 months

    Functional status will be assessed by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS, Parts 2 & 3) (Fahn, Elton, & Members of the UPDRS Committee, 1987). Part 2 is a quantitative 5-point scale that measures the subjects' perception of their functional status. Part 3 is also a 5-point scale in which a clinician evaluates actual functional status by physical exam. The scores on each item in Parts 2 & 3 are summed to yield a total score.

  3. subjective balance

    Time frame: 3 months

    Subjective balance will be assessed by the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale (Powell & Myers, 1995). This instrument assesses subjective balance/fear of falling by asking subjects to rate the degree of confidence that they have for completing 16 activities of daily living without falling. Ratings are summed and then divided by 16 (or the number of items completed) to yield a total ABC score.

  4. balance

    Time frame: 3 months

    Timed up and go test (TUG) will be a secondary measure of balance. Subjects are seated in a straight back chair with arms. On the command "GO" the stop watch is started. Subject stands, walks toward a visible object on the floor positioned 8 feet from chair, walk around the object, return to chair and sit down. After a practice, 3 TUG will be performed. Times will be documented in seconds.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of California, San Francisco

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Registry information

Official study title

"PD Wii: Computer-based Gait and Balance Training for Parkinson's Patients".

Important dates

Study start
2010
Primary completion
2011
Study completion
2011
First posted
Jul 14, 2010
Registry last updated
Apr 19, 2012

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.