← Back to Search

Gait Training for Improving Walking in Older Adults

N/A

Recruiting

Led By Gelsy Torres-Oviedo, Ph.D.

Research Sponsored by University of Pittsburgh

Eligibility Criteria Checklist

Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial

Must have

Able to walk for 5 minutes at their self-paced speed

65 years old or older

Timeline

Screening 3 weeks

Treatment Varies

Follow Up 2 weeks and 1 week pre-intervention, during intervention and 1 week post-intervention

Awards & highlights

Study Summary

This trial will test the improvement of locomotor adaptation in individuals aged 65 and up, and the relationship between this improvement and prefrontal-subcortical function. The study will use fNIRS to assess cortical activity during walking, and a split-belt walking protocol to evaluate locomotor adaptation. The trial will also assess participants' cognitive function through a neuropsychological battery.

Who is the study for?

This trial is for individuals aged 65 or older with a BMI of 35 or less, who can walk unaided and continuously for at least 5 minutes. It's not suitable for those with neurological disorders, severe heart/respiratory conditions, significant visual impairments, dementia, recent hospitalization for serious illness/surgery, orthopedic pain issues in the lower body, uncontrolled high blood pressure or certain movement disorders.Check my eligibility

What is being tested?

The study tests how well older adults can adapt their walking patterns using split-belt treadmills (where each leg moves at different speeds) and transition between this and normal walking. Researchers will measure brain activity during these tasks to see if they improve gait automaticity and balance as assessed by the Functional Gait Assessment.See study design

What are the potential side effects?

There may be minimal side effects from participating in this trial; however, participants might experience fatigue or discomfort from walking on uneven surfaces or while performing cognitive tasks simultaneously.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

You may be eligible if you check “Yes” for the criteria below

Select...

I can walk for 5 minutes at my own pace.

Select...

I am 65 years old or older.

Select...

I can walk without using any support like a cane or walker.

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks3 visits

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~ 2 weeks and 1 week pre-intervention, during intervention and 1 week post-intervention

Screening ~ 3 weeks

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~2 weeks and 1 week pre-intervention, during intervention and 1 week post-intervention

This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and 2 weeks and 1 week pre-intervention, during intervention and 1 week post-intervention for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Outcome measures can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.

Primary outcome measures

Change in Adaptation rate

Change in Aftereffect

Change in Community mobility

+3 more

Secondary outcome measures

Memory Disorders

Parietal Lobe

Change in prefrontal cortex activity

+2 more

Trial Design

1Treatment groups

Experimental Treatment

Group I: Intervention: Split-belt walking; Multiple transitions between split-belt and tied-belt walkingExperimental Treatment2 Interventions

Split-belt walking will be used in all experiments and consists of a time period during which the legs move at different speeds (0.5 m/s vs. 1 m/s). The investigators select those speeds since the investigators have observed in our preliminary data and published study (Sombric et al. 2017) that older individuals adapted at these speeds exhibit large deficits at motor switching when transitioning to overground walking. This large reference signal will facilitate the detection of a change in motor switching (Aim 2) following the Intervention. This second intervention consists of multiple short adaptation blocks (i.e., 6 blocks of 200 strides each) interleaved with short de-adaptation blocks (i.e., 5 blocks of 200 strides of tied-belt walking each). It was designed based on several studies showing improvements in adaptation rate in young adults with a similar protocol (Malone et al. 2011; Day et al. 2018; Leech et al. 2018).

0 / 3Eligibility criteria met

Find a Location

Who is running the clinical trial?

National Institute on Aging (NIA)NIH

1,670 Previous Clinical Trials

28,015,070 Total Patients Enrolled

U.S. National Science FoundationFED

34 Previous Clinical Trials

8,830 Total Patients Enrolled

University of Pittsburgh Momentum FundUNKNOWN

Media Library

Multiple transitions between split-belt and tied-belt walking Clinical Trial Eligibility Overview. Trial Name: NCT04934956 — N/A

Community Mobility Research Study Groups: Intervention: Split-belt walking; Multiple transitions between split-belt and tied-belt walking

Community Mobility Clinical Trial 2023: Multiple transitions between split-belt and tied-belt walking Highlights & Side Effects. Trial Name: NCT04934956 — N/A

Multiple transitions between split-belt and tied-belt walking 2023 Treatment Timeline for Medical Study. Trial Name: NCT04934956 — N/A

Frequently Asked Questions

These questions and answers are submitted by anonymous patients, and have not been verified by our internal team.

How many individuals are being enrolled for the clinical trial?

"Affirmative. Clinicaltrials.gov states that this clinical trial is currently recruiting; it was originally posted on November 8th 2021 and the most recent update occurred October 12th 2022. 44 test subjects are needed for 1 medical centre location."

Answered by AI

What objectives does this research endeavor hope to accomplish?

"This medical trial is assessing the Change in Adaptation rate of patients over a one-week pre-intervention, during intervention, and post-intervention time frame. Secondary outcomes measured include Attention, Language, Immediate Memory, Delayed Memory and Visuospatial Function as determined by Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), Switching Ability assessed through a computerized task inspired by Wisconsin Card Sorting Test which calculates perseveration errors from 0 to 128; and Premorbid Estimated Verbal Ability estimated using Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR) with scores ranging from 50 to 126"

Answered by AI

Is registration for this investigation still open?

"Yes, the information publicly available on clinicaltrials.gov confirms that this medical research is actively recruiting participants. It was posted in November 2021 and last updated in October 2022; 44 people are needed at one enrolment site."

Answered by AI

Recent research and studies

Journal of Aging and HealthJournal

Mobility, Disability, and Social Engagement in Older Adults

Rosso, Andrea L., Jennifer A. Taylor, Loni Philip Tabb, and Yvonne L. Michael. 2013. “Mobility, Disability, and Social Engagement in Older Adults”. Journal of Aging and Health. SAGE Publications. doi:10.1177/0898264313482489.

NeurophotonicsJournal

Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy in Movement Science: A Systematic Review on Cortical Activity in Postural and Walking Tasks

Herold, Fabian, Patrick Wiegel, Felix Scholkmann, Angelina Thiers, Dennis Hamacher, and Lutz Schega. 2017. “Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy in Movement Science: A Systematic Review on Cortical Activity in Postural and Walking Tasks”. Neurophotonics. SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng. doi:10.1117/1.nph.4.4.041403.

Frontiers in Aging NeuroscienceJournal

Explicit Action Switching Interferes with the Context-specificity of Motor Memories in Older Adults

Sombric, Carly J., Harrison M. Harker, Patrick J. Sparto, and Gelsy Torres-Oviedo. 2017. “Explicit Action Switching Interferes with the Context-specificity of Motor Memories in Older Adults”. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. Frontiers Media SA. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2017.00040.

Frontiers in Aging NeuroscienceJournal