Upper Limb Telerehabilitation With Virtual Reality in Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Trial

— TEAMS  

Official title:

The Effect of a Telerehabilitation Virtual Reality Intervention on Functional Upper Limb Activities in People With Multiple Sclerosis

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Not yet recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04032431
• Other study ID #: Italy-Israel-2019
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: December 1, 2020
• Est. completion date: September 1, 2022

Study information

• Verified date: March 2020
• Source: University of Cagliari
• Contact: Massimiliano Pau, PhD
• Phone: +390706753264
• Email: massimiliano.pau[@]dimcm.unica.it
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a home-based telerehabilitation program specifically designed for upper limbs, based on Virtual Reality (VR) in individuals affected by Multiple Sclerosis.

Description:

Approximately 60% of people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) suffer from upper limb dysfunction. The primary goal of this study is to implement a single-blind, randomized control trial (RCT) designed to compare the effectiveness of an 8-week home-based telerehab virtual reality (VR) program with conventional therapy in pwMS with manual dexterity difficulties. Secondary aims include; a) evaluating the impact of the programs on quality of life after the intervention and a follow up 1 month later; and b) evaluating the impact of the programs on adherence and satisfaction.

Methodology. Twenty-four pwMS will be recruited to participate in the study which will be conducted at two established MS Centers: (1) The Sardinian Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis, Binaghi Hospital, Cagliari, Italy; (2) The Multiple Sclerosis Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel. Participants will complete a total of three assessments focusing on upper limb functions. Both groups will receive 16 training sessions focusing on functional upper limb activities. The home-based telerehab VR intervention will comprise a custom-made software program running on a private computer or laptop. pwMS will perform several activities of daily living (ADL) functions associated with self-care, dressing and meal preparation.

Conventional therapy will focus on task-related upper-limb treatments while in a sitting or prone position, indicative of the standard care in multiple sclerosis (MS). Following 8-weeks of training, participants will complete a further outcome assessment. The same tests will be conducted 1 month (as a follow-up) after completion of the intervention.

Potential scientific contribution. The outcomes of this study have tremendous potential to improve the quality of evidence and informed decisions of functional upper limb activities in pwMS. If comparable results are found between the treatments in improving upper limb outcomes, this would suggest that pwMS can choose the program that best meets their personal needs, e.g., financial concerns, transportation or accessibility issues. Secondly, this information can be used by healthcare providers and medical professionals in developing upper limb exercise programs that will most likely succeed in pwMS and will then be disseminated to neurologists and other medical providers.

Mode of cooperation and added value. The Italian group will be responsible for designing and implementing three new VR scenarios relating to functional activities of the upper limb. The new VR scenarios will be planned in conjunction with the Israeli group who will also play an active role in the quality assessment procedures of the developed elements. Both groups will participate equally in the pilot RCT. Roles include: recruitment and guidance of patients and therapists, implementing the telerehab VR system in the patient's home, assessment of outcome measures, data collection, analysis and interpretation of data and dissemination of the findings. An additional role of the Israeli team will be to prepare a user manual detailing how to use the system and providing clinical guidelines/recommendations for both the therapist and patient.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Enrollment: 24
• Est. completion date: September 1, 2022
• Est. primary completion date: September 1, 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 25 Years to 60 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. diagnosis of MS according to the revised McDonald Criteria 2017;

2. aged 25-60 years old;

3. an Expanded Disability Status Scale score =6;

4. an ability to understand and execute simple instructions;

5. a cut-off score of >0.5 pegs/s(=18s) on the NHPT (selected due to its high discriminative and predictive ability in distinguishing ADL independence in pwMS).

Exclusion Criteria:

1. orthopedic and other neurological disorders affecting upper limb movements (e.g., epileptic seizures);

2. contra-indication to physical activity (e.g., heart failure, severe osteoporosis);

3. moderate or severe cognitive impairments as indicated by the Mini-Mental State Examination score <21;

4. pregnancy (self-reported);

5. severe uncorrected visual deficits;

6. MS clinical relapse or treatment with corticosteroid therapy within 90 days prior to enrollment;

7. started or stopped a disease-modifying therapy for MS within 90 days prior to enrollment;

8. patients who received a course of physical or occupational therapy (home, outpatient or inpatient) within the past 30 days;

9. other treatments that could influence the effects of the interventions

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Multiple Sclerosis
• Sclerosis

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Telerehab VR intervention
Training with VR system using software specifically designed to reproduce activities of daily living

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Israel	The Multiple Sclerosis Center, Sheba Medical Center	Tel HaShomer
Italy	Laboratorio di Biomeccanica ed Ergonomia industriale - Università degli Studi di Cagliari	Monserrato	Cagliari

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Cagliari	Azienda Sanitaria Locale di Cagliari, Tel Aviv University

Countries where clinical trial is conducted

Israel,  Italy, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Change in Nine Hole Peg Test (9HPT)	The NHPT was selected based on the widespread adoption and extensive data available. Furthermore, the NHPT is recommended as a gold standard for measuring manual dexterity in pwMS.31 The NHPT has excellent psychometric properties regarding reliability, discriminant, concurrent and ecological validity, can detect progression over time, is sensitive to treatment and as such, is recommended for inclusion in clinical trials. Briefly explained, the NHPT requires participants to repeatedly place nine pegs into nine holes, one at a time, as quickly as possible and then remove them from the holes. The total time needed to complete the task is then recorded. Two consecutive trials with the dominant hand are immediately followed by two consecutive trials with the non-dominant hand.	Pre-intervention (T0, baseline), post-intervention (T1, +8 weeks from baseline)
Secondary	Action Research Arm Test (ARAT)	The ARAT is a 19 item observational measure used by physical therapists and healthcare professionals to assess upper extremity performance in terms of coordination, dexterity and functioning in several neurologic conditions, including MS.32 Items comprising the ARAT are categorized into four subscales (grasp, grip, pinch and gross movement) and arranged in order of decreasing difficulty, with the most difficult task examined first, followed by the least difficult task. Task performance is rated on a 4-point scale, ranging from 0 (no movement) to 3 (movement performed normally).	Pre-intervention (T0, baseline), post-intervention (T1, +8 weeks from baseline), 1 month follow-up (T2, +12 weeks from baseline)
Secondary	Manual Ability Measure-36 (MAM-36)	The MAM-36 is a questionnaire based on perceived ease or difficulty that a person may experience when performing unilateral and bilateral ADL tasks. During a semi-structured interview, the subject is asked to rate 36 unilateral and bilateral ADL tasks using a 4-point scale. The score of the different tasks are summed up and transformed using a Rasch-derived conversion table. The MAM-36 has adequate psychometric properties and is recommended as an outcome measure for upper limb function in pwMS	Pre-intervention (T0, baseline), post-intervention (T1, +8 weeks from baseline), 1 month follow-up (T2, +12 weeks from baseline)
Secondary	Value of "Impression of change" parameter	A 7-point Likert-type global rating scale from both the patient and therapist's perspective will be applied. The question that will be asked will be: "Compared to before treatment, at present, how would you rate your/the participant's functional upper limb activities?" The responses will be rated as: 1= worse than ever, 2 = much worse, 3 = slightly worse, 4 = unchanged, 5 = slightly improved, 6 = much improved, 7= greatly improved.	Pre-intervention (T0, baseline), post-intervention (T1, +8 weeks from baseline), 1 month follow-up (T2, +12 weeks from baseline)