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Exploration of Brain Changes Due to a Targeted Ballet Program in Multiple Sclerosis

NCT04073940 · Status: UNKNOWN · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 30

Last updated 2020-01-03

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) affecting roughly 900,000 people in the United States that frequently results in impaired mobility. The majority of people with MS express that impaired mobility the most difficult aspect of living with the disease. Ataxia is one aspect of impaired mobility experienced by approximately 80% of persons with MS. Despite $9 billion in drug costs to patients with MS in the U.S., in 2012 alone, standard pharmacological treatment for MS is ineffective in restoring mobility and decreasing ataxia. The PI designed a targeted ballet program requiring motor learning of complex movements that mitigated ataxia and improved balance in patients with MS in a pilot study. The improvements obtained were approximately five times larger than those reported by other physical rehabilitation interventions. However, understanding these changes requires determining whether there are underlying changes in the brain after participation in the targeted ballet program.

This project involves persons with mild-to-moderate MS that present ataxia in their movement. We will compare the brain connectivity of participants in the targeted ballet program before and after the 16-week, twice per week, hourly participation intervention. Brain images will be obtained with magnetic resonance imaging while each participant rests with the eyes open. As a secondary outcome, measures of movement quality, ataxia, and balance will be taken to better understand the effects of the targeted ballet program on motor function, wellness, and the brains of persons with mild to moderate MS. Test on movement will include a 10 meter walk with motion tracking, a balance test using a force plate, and clinical tests of ataxia, balance, and walking speed. We will also assess changes in wellness with standard questionnaires.

Conditions

  • Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Targeted Ballet Program

All classes will be offered in a set schedule convenient for all participants. Classes will be taught by the PI, who has extensive dance training expertise. The targeted ballet program consists of an initial period of dance movements while sitting in chairs (20min), followed by exercises holding onto the ballet barres mounted to the walls in the Neuroscience of Dance on Health and Disability Laboratory (20min), followed by locomotive dance movements (20min). The dance moves are based on the Ballet I Syllabus of the Royal Academy of Dancing and the Cecchetti Council of America, designed for eight-year-old students with no necessary previous training in ballet.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
64 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2019-08-29
Primary Completion
2021-01-15
Completion
2021-01-15

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04073940 on ClinicalTrials.gov