Gait Disorders, Neurologic
Conditions
Interventions
Experimental group: 15 children with spastic cerebral palsy. Ten sessions of dual task training (treadmill gait training and training of intellectual activities) and anodal transcranial direct curren
Sponsors
Universidade Federal de São Paulo
Centro de Neuroestimulação Pediátrica
Eligibility
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Diagnosis of spastic cerebral palsy; functional classification on Levels I, II or III of the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS); ability to walk independently in at least the previous 12 months, even if requiring a gait-assistance device; age between six and 12 years (age corresponding to the period of concrete operations and logical thinking); degree of understanding and cooperation compatible with the execution of the proposed activities; statement of informed consent signed by a legal guardian and statement of informed assent signed by the participant.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Children that having been submitted to surgical procedures or neurolytic block in the 12 months prior to the onset of the training sessions; orthopedic deformities with indication for surgery; epilepsy; metal implants in skull or hearing aids; intellectual disorder that would limit the execution of the intellectual activities proposed in the study.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Functional mobility determined by walking distance (meters) in the six-minute walk test performed before, after and one month after the end of the interventions. The experimental group showed a significant increase in the distance travelled compared to the control group in the post-intervention evaluation (mean difference between groups in the post-intervention evaluation: 50.4 meters) and in the follow-up assessment (mean difference between groups in the follow-up evaluation 51.3 meters). | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Mobility and balance functional evaluated by the time of execution of the timed up and go test (seconds) performed before, after and one month after the end of the interventions. There was no significant difference between the groups in the post-intervention evaluation (mean difference between the groups in the post-intervention evaluation: -0.4 seconds). The experimental group showed a significant reduction compared to the control group only in test run time at the follow-up evaluation (mean difference between groups at the follow-up evaluation: -1.2 seconds).;2. Functional performance assessed by the total score of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (self-care, mobility and social function) performed before, after and one month after the end of the interventions. In the area of self-care, there was no significant difference between the results of the experimental group and the control group in the post-intervention evaluation (mean difference between the groups in the post-intervention evaluation: 0.3 points) and in the follow-up evaluation (mean difference between the groups in the follow-up evaluation: 4.8 points). The experimental group showed a significant increase in the score in the mobility area compared to the control group in the post-intervention evaluation (mean difference between groups in the post-intervention evaluation: 5.1 points) and in the follow-up evaluation (mean difference between groups in the follow-up evaluation: 5,6 points). The experimental group showed a significant increase in the score in the area of social function compared to the control group in the post-intervention evaluation (mean difference between groups in the post-intervention evaluation: 4,3 points) and in the follow-up evaluation (mean difference between groups in the follow-up evaluation: 6.7 points). ;3. Cognitive performance assessed by the total score on Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices applied before, after and one month after the end of the int | — |
Countries
Brazil
Contacts
Public ContactLuanda Collange
Centro de Neuroestimulação Pediátrica
Outcome results
None listed