Agility Training on Physical Performance, Cognitive Function and Brain Activities in Elderly

Healthy Clinical Trial

Official title:

The Effects of Agility Training and Its Relations on Physical Performance, Cognitive Function and Brain Activities in Elderly

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Not yet recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05531396
• Other study ID #: 202205012RINC
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 5, 2022
• Est. completion date: June 30, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: May 2022
• Source: National Taiwan University Hospital
• Contact: Yan Ci Liu, PhD
• Phone: +886233668135
• Email: yanciliu[@]ntu.edu.tw
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Agility comprised of cognitive and physical functions, which influences whole-body movement with change of speed and direction. Agility training is widely used in athletes, and recent studies have begun to apply it into the elderly. Agility training is multidimensional and highly functional, which makes it possible to provide more efficient training in limited time. In elderly, the decrement of cognitive function, muscle strength in the upper and lower limbs, the percentage of body fat, body flexibility and endurance caused by aging will make it difficult for the elderly to perform movements. Therefore, it is essential to explore whether agility training can achieve the improvement of the physical function and cognitive function in elderly, and to find the relationship between the two functions and brain activity. Method: This study will recruit 60 participants, and randomly allocate to control group and agility training. The training groups will have 8 weeks of training, 2 times a week, 45 minutes of training each time. Assessment will be performed before and after intervention in 1-week, and with 1-month follow-up. Assessment including agility ability, physical function, cognitive function, brain activity, and functional assessment scales.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Enrollment: 30
• Est. completion date: June 30, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: May 23, 2023
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 65 Years to 100 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. older than 65 years old

2. score of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) = 24

3. able to walk independently for more than 30 meters without assistive aids

4. able to follow orders

Exclusion Criteria:

1. poorly controlled or unstable systematic disease

2. has a history of central nervous system disease

3. currently taking antidepressants, anti-anxiety, or other psychiatric drugs that may affect blood flow in the brain

4. has other medical conditions for which exercise is contraindicated; (5) subjects with achromatopsia.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Elderly
• Healthy

Intervention

Other:
• Agility Training
Participants will receive 60 minutes of exercise, twice a week, for a total of 8 weeks, and training will be conducted by a well-trained physical therapist. The intervention will comprise a 5-minute warm-up, 45 minutes of main exercise, and a 10-minute cool-down period, for a total of 60 minutes each session. During the warm-up and cool-down, participants will do static and dynamic whole-body stretching exercises.
• Health Education
Participants in the control group will receive health educational guidelines. Guideline contents include home-based exercise program, nutrition recommendations, and fall prevention education. The home-based exercise program will emphasize how to safely and properly perform stretching and whole-body exercises.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
National Taiwan University Hospital

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)	MoCA contains 16 items and 11 categories to assess multiple cognitive domains, is a screening instrument for MCI, and its validity has been established in various clinical groups and countries.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Other	Working memory	The backward digit span test (DGS) will be used to measure working memory.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Other	Mental set shifting	The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) will be used to measure participants' ability to shift their cognitive ability in response to the demands of environment.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Other	Selective attention and inhibition	The Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT) will be used to measure selective attention.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Other	Motor Function	Walking performance, normal walking, cognitive dual-task walking, muscle strength of bilateral lower limbs, five times sit to stand test, timed up and go, quiet static standing task, and the 360° turning task, flexibility, 6-minute walk test (6WMT)	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Primary	Agility Challenge for the Elderly (ACE)	An agility course developed for a 9m x 18m volleyball court and includes three segments that each aim to test a specific aspect of agility, including stop-and-go, change of direction, and spatial orientation.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Secondary	Fall history and fear of falls	Fall history will be recorded by the number of fall episodes in the past 6 months and whether it caused injury.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Secondary	Quality of life (QOL)	Quality of life (QOL) will be evaluated by Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36).	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Secondary	Brain activation	A multichannel wearable fNIRS imaging system (NIRSport2, NIRx Medical Technologies LLC, Glen Head, NY, USA) will be used to detect the hemodynamics of brain areas associated with the agility test, cognitive tasks, and single and dual task walking test.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks