Vascular Mechanisms, Functional Outcomes, & Exercise Among Persons With Multiple Sclerosis With Hypertension
NCT Number: NCT06554340
Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
Phases: NA
Conditions: Multiple Sclerosis|Hypertension
Interventions: BEHAVIORAL: Home-based aerobic training
Sponsor: University of Massachusetts, Boston
Collaborators: University of Illinois at Chicago|University of Alabama at Birmingham
Sex: ALL
Age: ADULT, OLDER_ADULT
Enrollment: 80
Study Design: Allocation: RANDOMIZED|Intervention Model: PARALLEL|Masking: NONE|Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
Start Date: 2024-08
Completion Date: 2027-08

Summary:
The goal of this study is to determine if 12 weeks of cycling exercise training at home will improve three parameters: 1) blood pressure, 2) cognition, and 3) walking ability among persons with multiple sclerosis who have high blood pressure, when compared to a group that engages in a 12-week home-based stretching program.

The main questions this study aims to answer are:

1. Can home-based cycling exercise training improve blood pressure by increasing blood vessel dilation in people with multiple sclerosis?
2. Can cycling exercise training improve cognition and walking mobility in people with multiple sclerosis by improving blood pressure?

The investigators will compare home-based cycling training to stretching to see if cycling training improves cognition, walking mobility, blood pressure, and fitness in people with multiple sclerosis.

Participation in this study will take 13-14 weeks, with participants being randomized (like flipping a coin, a 50-50 chance of being in either group) to the home-based cycling training or the stretching group.

All participants will be asked to

* Visit the laboratory two times, one before the beginning of the intervention (home-base training and stretching group) and one at the end of the intervention.
* During visits, participants will complete tests related to cognition, walking mobility, blood pressure and fitness.

Primary Outcome Measures: Information processing speed, The Brief International Cognitive Assessment (BICAMS) battery tests, including the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) and California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II), Baseline, pre-intervention/BICAMS; Within 5 days after completion of the training intervention/BICAMS|Timed 25-Foot Walk, Measurement of mobility disability, Baseline, pre-intervention/25-Foot Walk; Within 5 days after completion of training intervention/ 25-Foot Walk
Secondary Outcome Measures: Blood pressure, 24h Blood pressure and central systolic blood pressure, Baseline, pre-intervention/oscillometry, applanation tonometry; Within 5 days after completion of training intervention/oscillometry, applanation tonometry|Flow-mediated dilation, Non-invasive measurement of endothelium-dependent vasodilation and macrovascular function, Baseline, pre-intervention/ultrasonography; Within 5 days after completion of training intervention/ultrasonography|Forearm blood flow, Non-invasive measurement of microvascular function, Baseline, pre-intervention/ strain-gauge plethysmography; Within 5 days after completion of training intervention/strain-gauge plethysmography|Cardiorespiratory fitness, Maximal oxygen uptake, Baseline, pre-intervention/indirect calorimetry; Within 5 days after completion of training intervention/indirect calorimetry