Effects of Intensity-matched Agility and Cycling Exercise Training on PD Patients' Clinical Symptoms, Posture, and Mobility
Condition: Parkinson Disease; Balance; Rehabilitation; Motor Function
MeSH terms: Parkinson Disease
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Determine the short-term and lasting effects of intensity-matched exercise programs on level
      2-3 PD patients' clinical symptoms, postural control, and mobility.

      Hypothesis

        1. The inclusion of a Borg-scale/heart-rate matched active control group will allow us to
           test the idea that, in addition to a fitness element, the reflexive movements that
           chellenge PD patients' sensorimotor system will improve patients' clinical symptoms,
           posture, and mobility more than fitness training and that such lasting effects will be
           superior in the agility compared with the fitness-control group. This hypothesis emered
           from the idea that the favorable results in the currently under review paper may be in
           part due to a simple conditioning effect instead of a specific motor learning effect
           caused by the xbox training.

        2. If feasible, i.e., if there is a lerge enough pool of patients to randomize, a balance
           training group will be also added to test the idea that the reflexive actions evoked by
           the agility program by xbox exergaming still produce superior adaptations vs. the
           balance group because xbox forces patients to rapidly and reflexively execute movements
           (respond to cues, prompts), while balance training allows patients to stop, go, stop,
           and go and disrupt the continous execution of linked movements. The disruptions of
           movement chains could arise from small losses of balance on the unstabel surfaces, need
           for patients to re-initiate every movement element of a sequence, planning each movement
           element. It is not clear yet how it woul be possible to match all three intervention
           groups on Borg/heart rate intensity.
    

Detailed description: 
      Agility: Xbox based high intensity program, as detailed in the submitted manuscript. Borg
      scale after after each exercise block is recorded. Heart rate continuosly measured. These
      data are used to set intensity in the fitness group.

      Fitness: A stationary bicycle ergometer program that includes visual stimulation in the form
      of watching nature programs and movies to account for visual stimulus in Agility group. Mean
      heart rate and Borg scale readings from Agility group will form the target intensity.

      Control: No-exercise, measurment-only control group.
    

Intervention name(s): Single-blind RTC of PD patients; cycling
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): The groups participate in observation for 5 weeks. Two groups take part in a motion therapy over the 5-week period.; Patients must undergo a daily exercise cycle of 1 hour during the intervention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Investigator)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: sensorimotor training; quality of life; posture