Cognitive-Motor Training for AD/ADRD Prevention

NCT07160582 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 2025-0354
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 46
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) greatly affect memory and daily activities in older adults. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is an early stage of dementia, affecting about 17% of older adults. People with MCI often show problems with gait and balance, which doubles their risk of falling compared to cognitively healthy peers. Falls can cause injuries, increase sedentary behavior, and reduce physical activity. This decline in activity can also speed up the progression from MCI to dementia. Exercise can help older adults make healthy lifestyle changes; however, most of the existing exercise programs focus mainly on physical movement rather than cognitive function. Therefore, the investigators developed a new program that uses computer vision and a cloud-based system to provide more scalable, engaging, and personalized cognitive-motor training for OAwMCI. The purpose of this study is to investigate the short- and long-term effects of a novel CogXergaming training (CXT) paradigm for improving the cognitive-motor function, physical activity, falls efficacy, and quality of life.

Conditions

MCI; Aging

Keywords

CogXergaming; Cognitive-motor interference; Dual-task

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Dual-task Limits of Stability Test (LOS)

  Measures changes in max excursion under dual-task conditions during the LOS test compared to the single-task.

  Baseline (session 1) and immediate post-training (session 20), and 2-month post-training (session 21)

• Mini-BESTest

  Assesses 4 domains: anticipatory and reactive balance control (therapist-induced), sensory orientation, and gait. The value ranges from 0 to 28, and higher scores indicate better balance control.

  Baseline (session 1) and immediate post-training (session 20), and 2-month post-training (session 21)

• Physical Activity Scale of Elderly (PASE)

  Self-reported measure of physical activity levels in older adults. The score ranges from 0 to 799, higher scores indicate greater physical activity level.

  Baseline (session 1) and immediate post-training (session 20), and 2-month post-training (session 21)

• Activities Specific Balance Confidence (ABC)

  Assesses an individual's confidence in maintaining balance during various daily activities. The score ranges from 0 to 100, and higher scores indicate greater confidence in maintaining balance during activities

  Baseline (session 1) and immediate post-training (session 20), and 2-month post-training (session 21)

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Dual-task Stance Perturbation Test (SPT)

  Baseline (session 1) and immediate post-training (session 20), and 2-month post-training (session 21)

• Timed up and go (TUG)

  Baseline (session 1) and immediate post-training (session 20), and 2-month post-training (session 21)

• 6 Minute Walk Test (6MWT)

  Baseline (session 1) and immediate post-training (session 20), and 2-month post-training (session 21)

• NIH motor toolbox- standing balance test

  Baseline (session 1) and immediate post-training (session 20), and 2-month post-training (session 21)

• NIH motor toolbox- 4-meter walking test.

  Baseline (session 1) and immediate post-training (session 20), and 2-month post-training (session 21)

Other Outcomes (1)

• The NIH Toolbox Fluid Cognition Composite Score

  Baseline (session 1) and immediate post-training (session 20), and 2-month post-training (session 21)

Study Arms (2)

Novel CogXergaming Training

EXPERIMENTAL

Customized Novel CogXergaming Training based on cognitive-motor balance training will be delivered to Participants in group A. Participants will undergo 18 sessions of training for eight weeks, with around 60 minutes of training per session, i.e., 3 sessions per week in the first 2 weeks, and 2 sessions per week in the remaining 6 weeks. All the CXT training will be performed using a desktop with a webcam.

Behavioral: Novel CogXergaming Training

Exercise and Education Training Program

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in Group B will complete 8 weeks of a conventional exercise program and fall-prevention education (3x/week in the first 2 weeks and 2x/week in the remaining 6 weeks, 18 sessions total) in the lab.

Behavioral: Exercise and Education Training Program

Interventions

Novel CogXergaming Training BEHAVIORAL

In each session, participants will play 6 games in the same order (Fruit catch, Math, Tracking, Candy match, Letter Number Sequencing - LNS, Stroop), each of which contains 10-20 trials and will last for around 10 minutes (total = 60 minutes. The CXT program employs a progressive method to ensure the intensity of CXT remains challenging without overload. If a participant demonstrates ≥80% accuracy in 3 continuous trials for one game, then the exercises for this game will be progressed to the next level (levels: 1-9 in Table 3). Each session of CXT will last approximately 1 hour. At least one day of rest will be required between weekly training sessions.

Also known as: CXT

Novel CogXergaming Training

Exercise and Education Training Program BEHAVIORAL

EEP consists of a conventional exercise program and fall-prevention education. The conventional exercise program comprises 50 minutes of supervised exercises for stretching and strengthening. A fall-prevention education program will also be provided to Group B, for about 10 minutes after each session of the exercise program. Each session of EEP will last approximately 1 hour. At least one day of rest will be required between weekly training sessions.

Also known as: EEP

Exercise and Education Training Program

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 55 Years - 90 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age: 55-90 years.
• No recent major surgery, bone fracture, or hospitalization (\< 3 months).
• Not on any sedative drugs.
• Can understand and communicate in English.
• Can walk without an assistive device for at least 1 block to ensure independent functioning.
• Identification of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) based on Jak/Bondi criteria
• Visual acuity greater than or equal to 20/40 with or without corrective lenses to ensure intact vision.

You may not qualify if:

• Participants will not proceed with the study if any of the following occurs at baseline measurement: 1) Heart Rate \>85% of age-predicted maximal heart rate (HRmax) (HRmax = 220 - age), 2) systolic blood pressure (SBP) \> 160 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) \> 110 mmHg during resting.
• Unable to stand for 5 minutes without an assistive device and walk for 10 m without an assistive device
• Complaints of shortness of breath, or uncontrolled pain (more than 3 out of 10 on Visual Analogue Scale), or if pulse oxygen drops less than 92% on the six-minute walk test (for endurance) to ensure that the participant can effectively participate without discomfort or injury during testing and training.
• Exhibits difficulty understanding the study information.
• Self-reported history or presence of any neurological, musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory, or systemic disorders that significantly impact mobility or the ability to walk independently (without an assistive device).
• Self-reported disability (with or without an assistive device) to ensure independent functioning.
• Uncontrolled (not under any medications) hypertension to avoid cardiovascular complications during testing/training.
• Weight \>220 lbs (harness weight threshold).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Illinois at Chicago: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois, 60612, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Exercise

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

• Shuaijie Wang, PhD

  University of Illinois at Chicago

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Shuaijie Wang, PhD

CONTACT

3123554674; sjwang4@uic.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Research Associate Professor

Model Details: Controlled design to compare the effect of two different training programs on the cognitive-motor function, physical activity, falls efficacy, and quality of life in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 29, 2025
• First Posted: September 8, 2025
• Study Start: May 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2027
• Last Updated: March 24, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)