Preventing Loss of Independence Through Exercise (PLIE) in Persons With Dementia

Summary

Nearly 1 in 10 older Veterans have dementia, which is a devastating condition that leads to a progressive loss of independence and functional status. Currently available dementia medications do not alter the disease course. Therefore, it is critically important to identify effective strategies for helping older Veterans living with dementia to enhance their functional status and quality of life. The investigators have developed a novel, integrative group movement program called Preventing Loss of Independence through Exercise (PLIE) that incorporates elements from Eastern and Western exercise modalities and is designed to build and maintain the capacity to perform basic functional movements while increasing mindful body awareness and enhancing social connection. Pilot study results suggested that PLIE is associated with meaningful improvements in physical function, cognitive function and quality of life as well as reduced caregiver burden. The goal of the current study is to perform a full-scale randomized, controlled trial to test the efficacy of PLIE in older Veterans with dementia.

Conditions

• Dementia
• Alzheimer's Disease

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Preventing Loss of Independence through Exercise (PLIE)

PLIE is an integrative group movement program that focuses on training procedural memory for the ability to perform the movements that are most needed for daily function (e.g., transitioning safely between sitting and standing) while increasing mindful body awareness and encouraging social connection. It combines elements from a wide range of Eastern and Western exercise modalities, including occupational therapy, physical therapy, yoga, tai chi, Feldenkrais, Rosen Method, dance movement therapy and mindfulness meditation.

BEHAVIORAL

Usual Care

Usual care activities will vary between participants. Some will be attending the adult day center and may be engaging in structured physical, mental and/or social activities. Other participants will be living in the community and may engage in physical, mental, and/or social activities on their own or with a caregiver.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• LifeLong Marin Adult Day Health Center

  collaborator OTHER

• Institute on Aging, San Francisco, CA

  collaborator OTHER

• Catholic Charities

  collaborator OTHER

• Alzheimer's Services of the East Bay

  collaborator OTHER

• Bayview Hunters Point Adult Day Health Center

  collaborator OTHER

• Primrose Alzheimer's Living, Inc

  collaborator OTHER

• VA Office of Research and Development

  lead FED

Principal Investigators

• Deborah E Barnes, PhD · San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-05-04

Primary Completion

2018-12-13

Completion

2018-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations