Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Effects of Virtual Reality Augmented Balance Training for Postural Control in Patients With Parkinson's Disease
Brief Summary: Background and Objective: Postural instability is common in patient with Parkinson's disease (PD). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of virtual reality (VR) balance training on sensory and cognitive domains of postural control.

Setting: Balance Performance Laboratory. Participants: A total of 42 patients (Hoehn and Yahr stage II-III) were recruited and assigned into three groups randomly.

Intervention: Participants in the virtual reality (VR) group and conventional balance training (CB) group received a 6 weeks balance training program. The control group (CG) did not receive any training.

Outcome Measures: The sensory organization tests (SOT) of computerized dynamic posturography with single and dual tasks (i.e. with backward subtraction of number) were examined pre-, post-training and follow-up. The equilibrium score (ES) and sensory ratio were measured. The verbal reaction time (VRT) was recorded.

Results: (1) Only VR significantly increased ES of SOT-6 (i.e., vestibular function at visual and somatosensory conflicting condition) post-training more than CG post-training in either single or dual task. (2) Only CB training significantly increased SOT-5 (i.e., vestibular function without visual conflict) and vestibular sensory ratio (i.e., SOT-5/SOT-1) more than CG post-training in either single or dual task. (3) (3) Neither VR nor CB training reduced VRT significantly under six sensory conditions at post-training and follow-up.

Conclusion: Both VR training and CB training can improve sensory organization for postural control by enhancing utilization of vestibular information, but VR could enhance vestibular function with conflicting proprioceptive and visual information under single and dual tasks in patients with mild to moderate PD.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients with Idiopathic PD, diagnosed according to the Brain Bank Criteria of the UK Parkinson's Disease Society
* Regular control by the neurologist
* Living independently in the community
* Able to complete the trial questionnaires

Exclusion Criteria:

* Atypical parkinsonian syndromes
* Hoehn and Yahr stage 5
* Severe cognitive impairment (MMSE\<24)
* Presence of other neurological disorders
* Severe co-morbidity (e.g. cancer)
* Planned surgical procedure for PD within the intervention period
* Patients who have already visited the Multidisciplinary Assessment Center
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* 2 or more falls within 6 months prior to the beginning of the study
* Aged 60-85 years
* Able to walk for 5 minutes unassisted
* Adequate hearing and vision capabilities.
* Stable medication for the past 1 month and anticipated over a period of 6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

* Psychiatric co-morbidity
* Clinical diagnosis of dementia or other severe cognitive impairment (MMSE\<24)
* History of stroke, traumatic brain injury or other neurological disorders (other than PD and MCI, for those groups)
* Acute lower back or lower extremity pain, peripheral neuropathy, rheumatic and orthopaedic diseases
* Unstable medical condition in the past 6 months
* Unable to comply with the training
* Interfering therapy
C: Inclusion Criteria:

(1) idiopathic Parkinson's disease, (2) intact cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination; MMSE\>24), 22 (3) Hoehn and Yahr (H-Y) stage II-III diagnosed by neurologists, (4) not participated in any balance or gait training previously, (5) able to follow simple command and had no uncontrolled chronic condition.-

Exclusion Criteria:

(1) history of other neurological, cardiovascular and orthopedic diseases affecting postural stability, (2) on-off motor fluctuation and dyskinesia above grade 3 by the Unified Parkinson' Disease Scale (UPDRS)
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients with Parkinson´s disease
* both gender
* on stages 1 and 2,5 of Hoehn e Yahr

Exclusion Criteria:

* depression
* cognitive impairment
* deficits of visual acuity
* Score on Berg Balance Scale under 46

Answer: C