Effectiveness of Tai Chi to Improve Cognitive Function in Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment

NCT04248400 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: TCMCI
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 37
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional state between normal cognitive decline and dementia. Individuals with MCI are having an impairment in cognitive function compared with normal age-matched counterparts, while their cognitive function is still sufficient for their daily function. The prevalent rate of MCI is ranging from 10% to 20%. Patients with MCI are more susceptible to dementia with annual conversion rate between 5% and 20%. It is well-known that dementia not only lead to devastating consequences to the patients and their care-givers, but also immense healthcare and socioeconomic burdens. The growing prevalence of MCI in our rapidly aging population warrants immediate action to identify effective interventions to prevent progression of the cognitive impairment and its conversion to dementia. Currently, there is no pharmaceutical treatment proven to be effective in alleviating the cognitive decline in MCI patients. Nonetheless, previous researches have demonstrated that mind activity, physical exercise and social engagement are all have positive effects in alleviating the cognitive decline in MCI patients. Tai Chi is a traditional form of Chinese mind-body exercise that consists of both physical exercise and meditation component. Practicing Tai Chi can also facilitate social engagement as people usually practice in group. Tai Chi is expected to be more acceptable to the older adults for incorporating it with their daily life to preserve cognitive function, compared with conventional physical activity modalities (e.g., running/jogging and gym-based resistance training). Preliminary evidences suggest the potential of Tai Chi for alleviating cognitive decline in older adults. A randomized controlled trial is needed to conclude on the therapeutic use of Tai Chi before it can be large-scale implemented at community level. This study seeks to extend previous findings of the beneficial effects of Tai Chi on cognitive function in older adults with MCI and examine the impact of Tai Chi training in protecting older adults with MCI from developing dementia. This study also attempt to delineate the behind mechanism of Tai Chi on alleviating cognitive decline by including measurements in neuroimaging and blood markers.

Conditions

Mild Cognitive Impairment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• The score of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment

  Change in the score of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The score ranged from 0 to 30. Higher score indicates a better cognitive function

  12 weeks

• The score of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment

  Change in the score of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The score ranged from 0 to 30. Higher score indicates a better cognitive function

  24 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• 30-min delay recall

  12 weeks and 24 weeks

• Trial making test

  12 weeks and 24 weeks

• Stroop test

  12 weeks and 24 weeks

• Verbal fluency

  12 weeks and 24 weeks

• Digit span

  12 weeks and 24 weeks

Study Arms (3)

Control

NO INTERVENTION

No intervention

Conventional exercise

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

A 24 weeks conventional exercise training with three 1-hour section per week

Other: Conventional exercise

Tai Chi

EXPERIMENTAL

A 24 weeks Tai Chi training with three 1-hour section per week

Other: Tai Chi training

Interventions

Tai Chi training OTHER

A 24 weeks Tai Chi training with three 1-hour section per week

Tai Chi

Conventional exercise OTHER

A 24 weeks conventional exercise training with three 1-hour section per week

Conventional exercise

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 50 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Older adults aged equal or larger than 50 years
• Ethnic Chinese
• MCI under criteria of Mayo Clinic, including the following:
• i. Participants have noticed a decline in their cognitive function ii. The total score of participants in age and education corrected Hong Kong version Montreal Cognitive assessment is below the 7th percentile of the normative data from Hong Kong iii. The decline of cognitive function does not affect the daily function of the participants revealed by getting ≥2 marks in every item of Chinese Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (4-point Scale)

You may not qualify if:

• History of major diseases such as cancer, stroke, cardio-/cerebrovascular, neurodegenerative and renal diseases,
• Diagnosis of dementia or using anti-dementia medication,
• Diagnosis of psychiatric disease or using psychiatric medication,
• Inability to perform exercise,
• Regular mind-body exercise habit (\>3 times 60-minute Tai Chi, yoga or Qigong weekly),
• Physically active (\>150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or \>75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity weekly)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Hong Kong: lead

Study Sites (1)

The University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, 00, Hong Kong

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Yu AP, Chin EC, Yu DJ, Fong DY, Cheng CP, Hu X, Wei GX, Siu PM. Tai Chi versus conventional exercise for improving cognitive function in older adults: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Sci Rep. 2022 May 25;12(1):8868. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-12526-5.

  PMID: 35614144 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Cognitive Dysfunction

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Cognition Disorders; Neurocognitive Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Parco Siu, PhD

  The University of Hong Kong

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

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

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 16, 2020
• First Posted: January 30, 2020
• Study Start: October 10, 2018
• Primary Completion: August 3, 2019
• Study Completion: February 28, 2020
• Last Updated: August 25, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

HK (1)