Exercise as an Adjuvant to Aphasia Therapy
- Conditions
- Aphasia
- Interventions
- Behavioral: StretchingBehavioral: Aerobic exercise
- Registration Number
- NCT01113879
- Lead Sponsor
- VA Office of Research and Development
- Brief Summary
The purpose of the study is to reveal if individuals who participate in aerobic activity demonstrate greater improvement in language abilities than patients who do not participate in aerobic activity.
- Detailed Description
The objective of this research project is to reveal if individuals who participate in aerobic activity demonstrate greater improvement in language abilities with treatment than patients who do not participate in aerobic activity. As secondary objectives, we will determine if there is a direct relationship between either brain efficiency or increases in Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) after exercise and higher learning rates in aphasia.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 9
- Post-stroke aphasia
- at least 6 months post-stroke
- at least minimally intact auditory verbal comprehension
- pre-morbidly right handed
- native English speaker
- contraindications for fMRI (metal implants, claustrophobia)
- inability to pass an exercise tolerance test
- significant depression
- uncorrected hearing or vision problems
- severe apraxia of speech
- regularly perform 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 3 times per week
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Aphasia therapy with a stretching adjuvant Stretching Aphasia therapy for anomia: The treatment is a traditional lexical/semantic stimulation approach during which subjects will attempt to name drawings of objects. Stretching: Stretching will occur for 50 minutes a day, three days/week for 12 weeks. Aphasia therapy with an exercise adjuvant Aerobic exercise Aphasia therapy for anomia: The treatment is a traditional lexical/semantic stimulation approach during which subjects will attempt to name drawings of objects. Aerobic exercise: An aerobic exercise intervention will target cardiorespiratory fitness by progressing from 50-70% of the participants' maximum heart rate.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Change in Picture Naming Abilities as Measured by Tau U Effect Size Weighted Means administered before and after each of two, two week aphasia therapy blocks Tau-U effect sizes of \<0.20 were considered small; 0.20 to \<0.60 moderate; 0.60 to \<0.80 large, and \>=0.80 very large. Weighted Tau-U averages in exercise participants and stretching participants were calculated in each block using an online web-based calculator (http://www.singleresearch.org/calculators/tau-u). In the present analysis, any baseline trends over 0.10 were adjusted.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Change in Serum Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Levels With Exercise six samples collected over a 16 week period The baseline BDNF levels in participants (ie, the 2 measures prior to the exercise or stretching interventions) showed a great deal of intraparticipant variation. Hence, in an attempt to minimize the intraparticipant variability, we calculated the mean values from samples 1 and 2 to obtain a baseline BDNF measure, samples 3 and 4 to obtain a BDNF measure in the first 6 weeks of aerobic exercise or stretching, and samples 5 and 6 to obtain a measure in the last 6 weeks of the exercise or stretching intervention.
Trial Locations
- Locations (2)
Brooks Rehabilitation Clinical Research Center
🇺🇸Jacksonville, Florida, United States
North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System
🇺🇸Gainesville, Florida, United States