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Without the participation of people with MS, it would be impossible to develop new and better therapies and other interventions.

Cognitive-motor Telerehabilitation in MS

Study Purpose

The primary goal of this project is providing evidence that a home-based combined cognitive-motor training program improves cognition in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), compared to single cognitive and motor rehabilitation. Secondary goals are to assess the effects on walking performance and to identify the mechanisms of improvement and predictors of treatment response. The main backbone of this project will be a randomized controlled two-centre clinical trial, in which an at-home computerised cognitive-motor rehabilitation program using telemedicine aimed at improving working memory in persons with MS will be evaluated. Based on the information gathered during this trial, possible mechanisms of improvement will be identified by analysing anatomical and neurophysiological changes on structural MRI and resting-state and task-related EEG before and after rehabilitation. Furthermore, factors that can predict treatment response to the rehabilitation program will be identified.

Recruitment Criteria

Accepts Healthy Volunteers Healthy volunteers are participants who do not have a disease or condition, or related conditions or symptoms	No
Study Type An interventional clinical study is where participants are assigned to receive one or more interventions (or no intervention) so that researchers can evaluate the effects of the interventions on biomedical or health-related outcomes. An observational clinical study is where participants identified as belonging to study groups are assessed for biomedical or health outcomes. Searching Both is inclusive of interventional and observational studies.	Interventional
Eligible Ages	18 Years - 65 Years
Gender	All

More Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

- Clinically definite multiple sclerosis (revised McDonald criteria 2017) - Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) below 6.0.

- Digit span backwards z-score between [-3 and -0.5] standard deviations below the median of the normative values.

- Age between 18 and 65.

- Able to safely perform motor rehabilitation in the home situation (assessed by rehabilitation physician and/or occupational or physiotherapist)
Exclusion Criteria:
- Cognitive rehabilitation within six months before inclusion.

- Inpatient multidisciplinary rehabilitation program within three months before inclusion or planned inpatient program during trial.

- Start of or switch in immunomodulator treatment within three months before inclusion.

- Less than one month post-exacerbation.

- Major psychiatric or medical disorder that could influence cognitive functions.

- Combined vision with optimal correction below 0.6 on Snellen Visual Acuity Test.

- Unable or unwilling to undergo EEG or MRI.

- Refusing informed consent

Trial Details

Trial ID: This trial id was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, providing information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies of human participants with locations in all 50 States and in 196 countries.	NCT05355389
Phase Phase 1: Studies that emphasize safety and how the drug is metabolized and excreted in humans. Phase 2: Studies that gather preliminary data on effectiveness (whether the drug works in people who have a certain disease or condition) and additional safety data. Phase 3: Studies that gather more information about safety and effectiveness by studying different populations and different dosages and by using the drug in combination with other drugs. Phase 4: Studies occurring after FDA has approved a drug for marketing, efficacy, or optimal use.	N/A
Lead Sponsor The sponsor is the organization or person who oversees the clinical study and is responsible for analyzing the study data.	Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel
Principal Investigator The person who is responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the entire clinical study.	Guy Nagels
Principal Investigator Affiliation	Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel
Agency Class Category of organization(s) involved as sponsor (and collaborator) supporting the trial.	Other
Overall Status	Recruiting
Countries	Belgium
Conditions The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied.	Multiple Sclerosis

Arms & Interventions

Arms

Experimental: Cognitive-motor training group

Active Comparator: Cognitive training group

Active Comparator: Motor training group

Interventions

Behavioral: - Cognitive training

For the cognitive treatment intervention the widely used cognitive training program RehaCom will be used. This is a computer-aided program with more than 30 modules focusing on different domains of cognition. RehaCom has shown improvements in verbal learning, visuospatial memory, information processing speed, attention, executive functions, depression, fatigue and quality of life in PwMS (PMID 31927200, 28116167, 19825502, 23192417). Patients will train on their home computer without direct therapist supervision, using three RehaCom modules that are focused on improving working memory. Both patients in the combined intervention and the cognitive intervention group will be doing a 45-minute computer session respectively one and two days per week for a total of 12 weeks.

Behavioral: - Motor training

For the motor treatment intervention a patient-tailored aerobic training program will be used. Based on their baseline physical activity level patients can choose out of a number of aerobic activities of either mild, moderate or strenuous intensity, with a total training time of 90 minutes for the motor intervention group and 45 minutes for the combined intervention group, divided over at least two training sessions per week of at least 15 minutes per session. The training will be carried out individually at home, without therapist supervision. All physical activities will be logged using the sport watch equipped with a heart rate sensor and an accelerometer. Training intensity will be assessed using the patient's heart rate and the Rating of Perceived Exertion scale.

Contact a Trial Team

If you are interested in learning more about this trial, find the trial site nearest to your location and contact the site coordinator via email or phone. We also strongly recommend that you consult with your healthcare provider about the trials that may interest you and refer to our terms of service below.