Motor Learning of Fall Resistant Skills From Laboratory-induced Falling Among People With Mild Alzheimer's Disease
Georgia State University
Summary
This study will examine the overall capacity of people with Alzheimer's disease learning fall-resistant skills from perturbation training.
Description
Falls can cause injury and death in older adults. Those with Alzheimer's disease are at an even higher fall risk. Our goal is to test if people with mild Alzheimer's disease can learn fall prevention skills from the exposure to large-scale perturbations on a treadmill. Two groups with mild Alzheimer's disease will be enrolled. One group will attend a perturbation training session while the other group receives no training. Groups will then be exposed to perturbations on the ground immediately and three or six months after the training. Over six months after the training, daily-living falls wil…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 65–90 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Participants must be at least 65 years old; * Participants have a clinical diagnosis of probable AD; * Participants can read and understand English; * Participants must be able to walk independently at least 25 feet; * Participants must be able to stand independently for at least 30 seconds; * Participants must have a Montreal Cognitive Assessment score of 11-21 or Mini Mental Status Examination score between 18 and 23. Exclusion Criteria: * Individuals have ever experienced perturbation training; * Individuals have hypotension or uncontrolled hypertension; * Individua…
Interventions
- BehavioralPerturbation training
Participants will experience repeated perturbations mixed with non-perturbed trials on the treadmill with the protection by a harness.
Location
- ReminiscentValdosta, Georgia