Comparing Effects and Neural Mechanisms of Tai Chi and Light-to-Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercises

NCT03275038 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: 201612213RINB
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 120
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

In this three-year project, investigators will target on sedentary middle-aged and older adults with cardiovascular risks, prescribe 24-week Tai Chi or aerobic exercises and examine:

1. 1.Whether both exercises are effective to reduce cardiovascular risks, prevent leukoaraiosis and associated declines in physical and psychological functions at Week 12 and 24;
2. 2.Will Tai Chi exercises be more effective on improving psychological health (cognition, psychological well-being, and exercise self-efficacy) than aerobic exercises at Week 12 and 24? If yes, are these effects mediated by specific brain structural and functional mechanisms?
3. 3.Will aerobic exercises be more effective on improving physical health (motor functions, physical fitness, and heart rate variability) than Tai Chi exercises at Week 12 and 24? If yes, are these effects mediated by other specific brain structural and functional mechanisms?
4. 4.After 12 and 24 weeks of Tai Chi and aerobic exercises, what are the relationships between reduction of cardiovascular risks and changes in brain structure and functions?

Conditions

Physical Activity

Keywords

Neuroimage; Training; Aging; Brain; Cardiovascular risks

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Brain functional activation and structure imaging

  fMRI activation patterns and white and gray matter changes of the brain

  up to 6 months

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly

  up to 6 months

• Geriatric Depression Scale short-form

  up to 6 months

• Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale

  up to 6 months

• The AD8 scale

  baseline

Study Arms (3)

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

Maintain the original life style

Tai-Chi exercise group

EXPERIMENTAL

Receive three one-hour Tai Chi exercise sessions weekly for 24 weeks, supervised for the first 12 weeks and unsupervised for the next 12 weeks

Behavioral: Tai-Chi exercise

Aerobic exercise group

EXPERIMENTAL

Receive three one-hour aerobic exercise sessions weekly for 24 weeks, supervised for the first 12 weeks and unsupervised for the next 12 weeks

Behavioral: Aerobic exercise

Interventions

Tai-Chi exercise BEHAVIORAL

Behavioral: Tai-Chi exercise

Tai-Chi exercise group

Aerobic exercise BEHAVIORAL

Behavioral: Aerobic exercise

Aerobic exercise group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 45 Years - 80 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age between 45 and 80 years old
• Literacy
• With cardiovascular risks, defined as having hypertension (defined as resting systolic BP≧140 mmHg or resting diastolic BP≧90 mmHg, or receiving antihypertensive medication), diabetes mellitus (defined as taking oral antidiabetics or insulin or fasting plasma glucose being ≥100 mg/dL), dyslipidemia (defined as receiving lipid-lowering medication and diet therapy or total cholesterol \> 200 mg/dL or triglyceride \> 150 mg/dL (Lan et al., 2008)), or a combination of two or three of these risks
• Being physically inactive (defined as being engaged in physical activities for less than a total of 90 minutes per week) in recent one year
• Have no prior experiences with Tai Chi, yoga, chi gung, or other meditative forms of exercises
• No expectation of the need of changing medication in the following 8 months from the physicians

You may not qualify if:

• Having any contraindications for fMRI (e.g., claustrophobia and indwelling metals or implanted devices)
• Serious or uncontrolled cardiac or metabolic conditions (e.g., unstable angina, serious cardiac arrhythmias, heart failure, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, severe aortic or carotid stenosis, pulmonary embolus or infarction, resting systolic BP ≥ 180 mmHg, resting diastolic BP ≥ 110 mmHg, fasting plasma glucose ≥ 300 mg/dL)
• Severe renal failure
• Symptoms or history of neurological diseases, including transient ischemic attack
• Severe musculoskeletal disorders which would affect their mobility
• Dementia or inability to follow instructions
• Psychiatric disorder
• Having contraindications for doing exercises (e.g., resting systolic BP ≥ 180 mmHg, resting diastolic BP ≥ 110 mmHg, fasting plasma glucose ≥ 300 mg/dL, hypoglycemia (plasma glucose ≤ 70 mg/dL) after exercises, and postural hypotension (BP drop ≥ 20 mmHg when changing postures)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Taiwan University Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

National Taiwan University Collage of Public Health

Taipei, Zhongzheng, 100, Taiwan

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity

Interventions

Aquatic Therapy; Exercise

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Hydrotherapy; Physical Therapy Modalities; Therapeutics; Rehabilitation; Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

• Pei-Fang Tang, PhD

  National Taiwan University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Pei-Fang Tang, PhD

CONTACT

02-33668128; pftang@ntu.edu.tw

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 30, 2017
• First Posted: September 7, 2017
• Study Start: August 31, 2017
• Primary Completion: July 31, 2020
• Study Completion: July 31, 2020
• Last Updated: September 7, 2017

Record last verified: 2017-03

Locations

TW (1)