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Physiological Benefits of High-intensity Interval Training for Individuals With Parkinson's Disease

Physiological Benefits of High-intensity Interval Training for Individuals With Parkinson's Disease

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03940261
Enrollment
28
Registered
2019-05-07
Start date
2019-06-12
Completion date
2022-07-12
Last updated
2022-07-28

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Exercise Training, Parkinson Disease

Keywords

High intensity interval training

Brief summary

Aerobic exercise is recommended for individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) and can improve quality of life, both physically and mentally. The most efficacious program to achieve these exercise benefits is unknown. Recently, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to be safe and more effective in many high-risk populations with limited exercise tolerance. Shorter bouts of exercise are likely better tolerated in PD due to difficulty sustaining muscle contractions. The goal of this project is to determine whether HIIT produces superior cardiorespiratory, neuromuscular, biomechanical, and clinical adaptations than conventional continuous moderate intensity training (CMIT) in PD.

Detailed description

The specific research aims are to compare, in PD, the effects of HIIT or CMIT on: 1) maximal exercise capacity; 2) neural and non-neural factors contributing to muscle strength, power and fatigability; 3) biomechanical measures of postural stability and gait; and 4) Clinical markers (Mini-BESTest and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)). The investigators hypothesize that, HIIT will produce greater improvements in: 1) exercise capacity; 2) muscle strength, power and reduced fatigability; 3) stability and gait velocity; and 4) clinical markers. Methods: This pilot project will involve a randomized trial of 30 individuals with PD comparing the effects of HIIT and CMIT. Training will be completed thrice weekly for 10 weeks. Participants will include men and women between 50-85 years of age, who are able to stand unsupported for 1 min, walk 18m without use of an aid, and mount a stationary bike. Participants will be randomized to either HIIT (10, 1-minute cycling intervals at 90% of peak power output, each separated by 1-min at 10% peak power output) or CMIT (30-50min cycling at 60% of peak power output). Participants will undergo the following pre- and post-training assessments: Cardiovascular testing will examine hemodynamic and efferent muscle sympathetic responses to static handgrip exercise and post-exercise circulatory occlusion; Neuromuscular testing will examine muscle activity (electromyography) during voluntary and electrically stimulated contractions of the knee extensors; Biomechanical testing will examine whole-body stability, gait, and balance patterns; and Clinical risk assessments (Mini-BESTest and UPDRS).

Interventions

OTHERHigh Intensity Interval Training

Participants will complete exercise training 3x/week for 10 weeks. Exercise will consist of 10, 1-minute cycling intervals at 90% of peak power output, each separated by 1-min at 10% peak power output.

OTHERContinuous Moderate Intensity Training

Participants will complete exercise training 3x/week for 10 weeks. Exercise will consist of 30-50 minutes of cycling at 60% peak power output.

Sponsors

Parkinson Society Canada
CollaboratorOTHER
YMCA
CollaboratorOTHER
University of Guelph
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

The collection of study outcomes will be completed by individuals blinded to group allocation.

Intervention model description

Participants will be randomized to 10 weeks of either high intensity interval training or continuous moderate intensity training. Training will be conducted in parallel.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
45 Years to 85 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Men and women between 45-85 years of age * Clinical diagnosis of Parkinson disease * Able to stand unsupported for 1 minute * Able to walk 18 metres without aid * Able to mount a stationary bike

Exclusion criteria

* History of dementia * History of stroke * Type 1 diabetes * Autonomic neuropathy * Currently involved in formal exercise training (\>3 day per week).

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Maximal exercise capacityChange from baseline following 10 weeks of aerobic exercise trainingVO2 max

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Handgrip strengthChange from baseline following 10 weeks of aerobic exercise trainingMaximal handgrip strength
Blood PressureChange from baseline following 10 weeks of aerobic exercise trainingSystolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure
Heart RateChange from baseline following 10 weeks of aerobic exercise trainingCardiovascular measure
Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest)Change from baseline following 10 weeks of aerobic exercise trainingRating scale consisting of 14 items that are each scored from 0-2, where 0 indicates the lowest level of function and 2 the highest level of function. The test has a maximum score of 28 points.
Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)Change from baseline following 10 weeks of aerobic exercise trainingWe will use the rating scale to examine 3 segments. 1) MENTATION, BEHAVIOR AND MOOD - 4 questions scored between 0 and 4; 2) ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING - 13 questions scored between 0 and 4; and 3) MOTOR EXAMINATION - 14 questions scored between 0 and 4. In each case, a score of 0 indicates normal responses.

Countries

Canada

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026