Agility Training on Physical Performance, Cognitive Function and Brain Activities in Elderly

Study Overview
=================
Brief Summary
-----------------
Agility comprised of cognitive and physical functions, which influences whole-body movement with change of speed and direction. Agility training is widely used in athletes, and recent studies have begun to apply it into the elderly. Agility training is multidimensional and highly functional, which makes it possible to provide more efficient training in limited time. In elderly, the decrement of cognitive function, muscle strength in the upper and lower limbs, the percentage of body fat, body flexibility and endurance caused by aging will make it difficult for the elderly to perform movements. Therefore, it is essential to explore whether agility training can achieve the improvement of the physical function and cognitive function in elderly, and to find the relationship between the two functions and brain activity. Method: This study will recruit 60 participants, and randomly allocate to control group and agility training. The training groups will have 8 weeks of training, 2 times a week, 45 minutes of training each time. Assessment will be performed before and after intervention in 1-week, and with 1-month follow-up. Assessment including agility ability, physical function, cognitive function, brain activity, and functional assessment scales.

Official Title
-----------------
The Effects of Agility Training and Its Relations on Physical Performance, Cognitive Function and Brain Activities in Elderly

Conditions
-----------------
Elderly, Healthy

Intervention / Treatment
-----------------
* Other: Agility Training
* Other: Health Education


Participation Criteria
=================
Eligibility Criteria
-----------------
Inclusion Criteria: older than 65 years old score of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) ≥ 24 able to walk independently for more than 30 meters without assistive aids able to follow orders Exclusion Criteria: poorly controlled or unstable systematic disease has a history of central nervous system disease currently taking antidepressants, anti-anxiety, or other psychiatric drugs that may affect blood flow in the brain has other medical conditions for which exercise is contraindicated; (5) subjects with achromatopsia.

Ages Eligible for Study
-----------------
Minimum Age: 65 Years
Maximum Age: 100 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
-----------------
All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
-----------------
Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
=================
How is the study designed?
-----------------

Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Health Education<br> | Other: Health Education<br>* Participants in the control group will receive health educational guidelines. Guideline contents include home-based exercise program, nutrition recommendations, and fall prevention education. The home-based exercise program will emphasize how to safely and properly perform stretching and whole-body exercises.<br>|
| Experimental: Agility Training Group<br> | Other: Agility Training<br>* Participants will receive 60 minutes of exercise, twice a week, for a total of 8 weeks, and training will be conducted by a well-trained physical therapist. The intervention will comprise a 5-minute warm-up, 45 minutes of main exercise, and a 10-minute cool-down period, for a total of 60 minutes each session. During the warm-up and cool-down, participants will do static and dynamic whole-body stretching exercises.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
-----------------
Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Agility Challenge for the Elderly (ACE) | An agility course developed for a 9m x 18m volleyball court and includes three segments that each aim to test a specific aspect of agility, including stop-and-go, change of direction, and spatial orientation. | Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fall history and fear of falls | Fall history will be recorded by the number of fall episodes in the past 6 months and whether it caused injury. | Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks | 
| Quality of life (QOL) | Quality of life (QOL) will be evaluated by Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). | Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks | 
| Brain activation | A multichannel wearable fNIRS imaging system (NIRSport2, NIRx Medical Technologies LLC, Glen Head, NY, USA) will be used to detect the hemodynamics of brain areas associated with the agility test, cognitive tasks, and single and dual task walking test. | Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks | 

 Terms related to the study
=================
Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
-----------------
Agility training, Physical function, Cognition function, Elderly, Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)