MedPath

Effects of Exercise on Cognitive Function in Glioma Patients

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Low Grade Glioma of Brain
Anaplastic Glioma of Brain
Interventions
Behavioral: physical exercise
Registration Number
NCT02303938
Lead Sponsor
Tilburg University
Brief Summary

The objective of this pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to assess the feasibility and to determine the effect size of an exercise program in improving objective cognitive functioning.

Detailed Description

Clinical stable patients with 1) low grade glioma (LGG) or 2) anaplastic glioma under age 70 will undergo a home-based exercise program (intervention) or will be assigned to the active controle group. Patients in the intervention group will undergo a 6-month home-based exercise intervention. An individual exercise prescription will be based on the patients' level of aerobic fitness (VO2peak) as measured with cardiopulmonary testing (CPET; on a cycle ergometer with ECG and gas exchange measurement) at baseline. Patients will exercise (e.g., running, biking, swimming) three times per week for 6 months. Session duration will vary between 20 minutes and 45 minutes. Patients in the active control group will be advised to walk regularly based on brochures from 30minutenbewegen.nl.

All primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed at baseline (T0; prior to randomization), and at completion of the 6-month exercise intervention (T1), and at a similar time-point for patients in the active control group. These will include indicators of feasibility (accrual, adherence, compliance and attrition), subjective and objective physical fitness measures, neuropsychological performance scores, and self-reported cognitive symptoms and mental wellbeing.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
60
Inclusion Criteria
  • Grade II and III gliomas
  • age < 50 years
  • Karnofsky score > or equal 80
  • clinically stable for a minimum of 6 months prior to study entry
  • no recent anti-tumor treatment
  • interested in undergoing a physical exercise program
  • mild to moderate neuropsychological impairment based on normative comparison of objective test performance
  • relative VO2peak that leaves room for further improvement of cardiorespiratory fitness.
Exclusion Criteria
  • patients with serious orthopedic conditions or motor deficits
  • patients with serious cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary and neurological conditions (or risks)
  • patients judged to have psychiatric (including alcohol and drug abuse)
  • patients with severe cognitive problems
  • patients who report to engage in vigorous exercise (≥7 METs) for more than 20 minutes on at least 3 days per week on a regular basis will be excluded

For assessment purposes, study participants will need to have basic fluency in the Dutch language.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SINGLE_GROUP
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
physical exercisephysical exercisePatients will exercise three times per week for 6 months home-based exercise intervention. Session duration will vary between 20 minutes and 45 minutes.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
cognitive function as measured by neuropsychological tests6 months after the initial assessment

neuropsychological test battery will be administered to patients at baseline and immediately after the intervention at 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Objective measures of physical fitness measured by cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET)6 months after the initial assessment

Intervention-related improvement of physical fitness will be assessed with a maximum cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). VO2 and of course adverse events are recorded immediately after the intervention ended at 6 months

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Tilburg University

🇳🇱

Tilburg, Nood-Brabant, Netherlands

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath