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Recruiting NCT03799991

Vestibular Therapy in Alzheimer's Disease

No phase Interventional Vestibular Diseases Vestibular Disorder Alzheimer Disease

For patients and families

In plain language

An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.

What is being studied
The protocol lists: Vestibular physical therapy, Active control.
Who it may be relevant to
Registry conditions: Vestibular Diseases, Vestibular Disorder, Alzheimer Disease. Basic parameters: from 60 years · All.
What needs checking
Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
Where it takes place
United States
Next step
Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →

Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →

Overview

Nearly 2 out of 3 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) experience problems with balance and mobility, which places such patients at increased risk of falling. The vestibular (inner ear balance) system plays an important role in balance stability, and vestibular therapy (VT) is well-known to improve balance function in healthy older adults. In this study, the investigators will conduct a first-in-kind randomized clinical trial to evaluate whether vestibular therapy improves reduces falls in patients with AD, in whom this treatment has never been studied.

Interventions

  • Behavioral Vestibular physical therapy
    Vestibular therapy is a set of exercises delivered by a physical therapist involving head movements. The therapy is delivered over a course of 8 weeks.
  • Behavioral Active control
    Strength and flexibility exercises that do not involve head movements.

Primary outcome measures

  • Number of participant falls [Time frame: 1 year]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

  • Diagnosis of AD based on the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer Association 2011 criteria that is mild-moderate (CDR=0.5-2).
  • Age ≥ 60 years.
  • Vestibular loss defined as bilaterally impaired vestibular responses (semicircular canal or otolith responses).
  • Able to participate in study procedures including vestibular physiologic testing, balance and gait assessment, neurocognitive testing, and VT or active control.
  • Able to give informed consent, as further detailed in the Human Subjects section. The investigators anticipate that individuals who are too impaired to provide informed consent would also not be able to effectively participate in VT or active control.
  • Presence of a caregiver, defined as an individual who spends at least 10 hours per week with the patient. The caregiver must be able to participate in study procedures, specifically the text-messaging system. Both the VT and active control involve 8 weeks of once weekly visits and daily home exercises, and the investigators believe a caregiver would increase the likelihood of successful completion of either therapy.

Exclusion criteria

  • Diagnosis of severe AD (CDR≥3).
  • Diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or diagnosis of non-AD dementia, for example Parkinson's disease dementia, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, vascular dementia, fronto-temporal dementia, and primary progressive aphasia.
  • Deemed unable to participate in study procedures and VT or active control, (e.g. patients with significant medical comorbidities, excessive agitation, or use of mobility aids such as a cane or walker.)
  • Use of daily vestibular suppressant medications, specifically anti-histamines and benzodiazepines, as this can alter the response to VT.
  • Lack of availability to participate in 8 weeks of VT or active control.

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation
Randomized
Model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple blind
Primary purpose
Treatment

Study locations

United States · 1 center
  • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine — Baltimore

Publications

  • Yesantharao LV, Rosenberg P, Oh E, Leoutsakos J, Munro CA, Agrawal Y. Vestibular therapy to reduce falls in people with Alzheimer's disease: study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2022 Aug 2;8(1):167. doi: 10.1186/s40814-022-01133-w. PMID 35918757

Identifiers

NCT: NCT03799991 · IRB00273752 · R01AG065259

Primary sources (government registries)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗