Effects of a Treadmill Gait Training Protocol in a Gamified Virtual Reality Environment With tDCS in Parkinson's Disease

Effects of a Treadmill Gait Training Protocol in a Gamified Virtual Reality Environment With tDCS in Parkinson's Disease

Evaluating the Effects of a Treadmill Gait Training Protocol in a Gamified Virtual Reality Environment With tDCS in Parkinson's Disease: Randomized Controlled Trial

The study aims to compare the effects of treadmill gait training in a gamified virtual reality environment with tDCS versus treadmill gait training in a gamified virtual reality environment versus treadmill training in people with Parkinson's Disease.

Treadmill gait training has been stablished as a solid gait rehabilitation option for people with Parkinson's Disease. However, gait training by itself fails to address the cognitive aspect needed for safe walking, which could be affected by situations in which concurrent tasks must be managed simultaneously to gait. It also lacks motivational aspects key to keep people with Parkinson's Disease adhered to treatment. Virtual reality and gamification are posed as useful tools to address both these issues, turning training into a more engaging activity and allowing complicated gait situations to be trained in a safe environment. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could be combined with these mentioned treatment options, which could reinforce the learning of motor and cognitive skills during training. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of the inclusion of a gamified virtual reality environment to a treadmill gait training program with tDCS in PD compared to the same training protocol with virtual reality and without it

The outcome measuring assessors will not know from which group any of the participants comes from, and will have no interaction with any of the interventions applied.

The first group will follow an 18-session gait training protocol for 6 weeks. Duration of the sessions will progressively increase from 20 to 45 minutes from first session to last. They will be immersed in a gamified virtual reality environment in which they will interact with the in-game ambient by having their feet represented on the screen and move as their own on the treadmill. They will also receive tDCS for the first 20 minutes of each session.

The second group will follow an 18-session gait training protocol for 6 weeks. Duration of the sessions will progressively increase from 20 to 45 minutes from first session to last. They will be immersed in a gamified virtual reality environment in which they will interact with the in-game ambient by having their feet represented on the screen and move as their own on the treadmill.

The third group will follow an 18-session gait training protocol for 6 weeks. Duration of the sessions will progressively increase from 20 to 45 minutes from first session to last.

Stride length will be recorded while walking on a 10-meter aisle with an inertial sensor system while the patient is asked to walk at preferred, very slow, slow, medium, high and very high speed. Will be measured in meters (m).

Speed will be recorded while walking on a 10-meter aisle with an inertial sensor system while the patient is asked to walk at preferred, very slow, slow, medium, high and very high speed. Will be measured in meters per second (m/s).

Step cadence will be recorded while walking on a 10-meter aisle with an inertial sensor system while the patient is asked to walk at preferred, very slow, slow, medium, high and very high speed. Will be measured in Hertz (Hz).

Stride length will be recorded while walking on a 10-meter aisle with an inertial sensor system while listening to an audio recording, in which patients will hear certain set words and will have to remember how many times they are mentioned (Phoneme Monitoring Paradigm Dual Task). Participants will be asked to walk at preferred speed. Will be measured in meters (m).

Speed will be recorded while walking on a 10-meter aisle with an inertial sensor system while listening to an audio recording, in which patients will hear certain set words and will have to remember how many times they are mentioned (Phoneme Monitoring Paradigm Dual Task). Participants will be asked to walk at preferred speed. Will be measured in meters per second (m/s).

Step cadence will be recorded while walking on a 10-meter aisle with an inertial sensor system while listening to an audio recording, in which patients will hear certain set words and will have to remember how many times they are mentioned (Phoneme Monitoring Paradigm Dual Task). Participants will be asked to walk at preferred speed. Will be measured in Hertz (Hz).

Based on standard deviation and mean values of Stride Length data, a new variable will be calculated to assess the variability of stride length in participants' gait. Formula will be the following: (Standard deviation/mean Stride Length)100

Based on standard deviation and mean values of Stride Length data, a new variable will be calculated to assess the variability of stride length in participants' gait. Formula will be the following (data from Dual Task variable): (Standard deviation/mean Stride Length)100

Based on standard deviation and mean values of step cadence data during Dual Task, a new variable will be calculated to assess the variability of step cadence in participants' gait. Formula will be the following: (Standard deviation/mean Step Cadence)100

Based on standard deviation and mean values of step cadence data during Dual Task, a new variable will be calculated to assess the variability of step cadence in participants' gait. Formula will be the following (data from Dual Task variable): (Standard deviation/mean Step Cadence)100

A battery of executive function tests will be applied, which in combination will allow for a total cognitive performance calculation. The used tests to calculate the Total Cognitive Performance are: Trail Making Test, Digit Span Backwards, Word Fluency Phonemic and Semantic, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Corsi Block Test, and Tower of London Test. These test scores will be converted to z-test scores and integrated with a formula to obtain the Total Cognitive Performance score.

The UPDRS is made up of 42 items grouped into four subscales: Section I-mentation, behavior and mood; Section II-activities of daily living (scored for "on" and "off"); Section III-motor exam; and Section IV-complications. Items from Sections I to III are scored on a 4-point scale. Section IV contains dichotomous items and items scored on a 4-point scale for duration or severity. Higher scores indicate more severe impairment.

Assess symptom progression in Parkinson's Disease based on a 5-stage scale, in which stage 1 is the most autonomous and stage 5 implies bedridden or wheelchair-bound patients unless assisted.

Patient-reported 39 item questionnaire to assess Parkinson's Disease related quality of life and health status across 8 dimensions of daily living. Higher scores indicate worse quality of life.

Inclusion Criteria: Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease Stage II - III in the Hoehn and Yahr Scale during ON state Ability to walk for 10 minutes independently without stop Exclusion Criteria: Significant cognitive decline based on mini mental status examination (MMSE <23) Severe auditory or visual deficits Other neurological/psychiatric conditions Any kind of cardiovascular complications that contraindicates physical activity Clinical history of any brain surgery or deep brain stimulation device

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