Clinical trial: Development of Clinical Methods to Evaluate Neural Function in Aging (NCT02073201)

Eligibility criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

          -  Age 60 years and older OR 20-30 years

          -  Higher functioning older adults: Score ≥ 11 on the Short Physical Performance Battery
             (SPPB)

          -  Lower functioning older adults: Score ≤ 8 on the SPPB

          -  Body mass index: 20-35 kg/m2 to ensure homogeneity and strength of signal for EMG and
             MRI analyses

          -  Willingness to participate in all study procedures

        Exclusion Criteria:

          -  Failure to provide informed consent;

          -  Contraindications to MRI, such as claustrophobia, heart pacemaker / defibrillator,
             heart valve prosthesis, aneurysm clip, metallic stent, neurostimulation system,
             cochlear implants or inner ear prosthesis, insulin pump or other infusion pump, metal
             slivers in the orbital area/eye socket

          -  active treatment for cancer or history of cancer in the past year

          -  Severe cardiac disease, including NYHA Class III or IV congestive heart failure,
             clinically significant aortic stenosis, history of cardiac arrest or stroke, use of a
             cardiac defibrillator, or uncontrolled angina;

          -  previous stroke with upper and/or lower extremities involvement within the last 6
             months

          -  history of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, stroke, severe Parkinson's disease or
             severe neurological disorders likely to interfere with physical function

          -  renal disease requiring dialysis

          -  lung disease requiring steroids

          -  lower extremity amputation

          -  severe osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis that interferes with physical function

          -  complicated diabetes requiring insulin

          -  A known diagnosis of dementia

          -  Unable to communicate because of severe hearing loss or speech disorder;

          -  Severe visual impairment, which would preclude completion of the assessments and/or
             intervention;

          -  Simultaneous participation in another intervention trial
No condition on gender to be admitted to the trial.
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Subject must be at least 20 Years old.
Subject must be at most 100 Years

Patient description (medical language): A 20-year-old man comes to the clinic for his routine checkup. The patient wears glasses for myopia and takes no medications.  Vital signs are normal.  On physical examination, the patient is tall with long upper extremities and fingers.  The face appears narrow with down-slanted palpebral fissures, flattened malar bones, and a small jaw.  The lungs are clear on auscultation.  The abdomen is soft with no organomegaly. The patient is diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, and he is cooperative with his medical appointments. He is working as driver.

Patient description (patient's own words): I'm a 20-year-old guy, working as a driver and I went to the clinic for my routine checkup. I have myopia, so I wear glasses and I don't take any other medications. My vitals were normal. I also did a physical exam, and I was told that I have long legs, arms, and fingers. They also told me that my face is quite narrow, with down-slanted eyes and a small jaw. My lungs were fine and my tummy too. I have been diagnosed with Marfan syndrome and I haven't been skipping any medical appointments since.

Does the patient match the trial criteria? Entailment