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

University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 2

Conditions: Parkinson's Disease

Treatments: Behavioral: gait and balance training program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT01162226

2R42NS061502-02 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Enrollment: 62 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. 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).
2. Hoehn & Yahr disease Stage 1 (unilateral disease) to 3 (mild to moderate bilateral disease, physically independent) (Fahn and Elton, 1987).

Exclusion criteria

1. 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).
2. 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)
3. visual or hearing impairments serious enough to interfere with their ability to interact with the computer-based training program.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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62 participants in 1 patient group

training program

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: gait and balance training program