$1M grant funds study to prevent falls in older adults with MS
Researchers to test program combining cognitive training, exercise
- Older adults with multiple sclerosis face high fall risks due to balance issues.
- A new study investigates if combined cognitive training and exercise prevents falls.
- The 10-week program involves walking, strength training, and cognitive tools.
A Georgia State University researcher won a $1 million U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) grant to study whether a program combining cognitive training with exercise can help prevent falls in older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS).
“Falls are so common — and frightening — in older adults,” Katherine Hsieh, PhD, an assistant professor of physical therapy and a researcher at Georgia State’s Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions, said in a university press release. “They can cause … injuries, from hip fractures to traumatic brain injuries. But for people with MS, who often already face challenges with balance and coordination, falls can cause even more serious outcomes.”
Hsieh and her team will follow 30 veterans with MS, aged 55 and older, who receive care through the VA Atlanta Health Care System, to see whether the 2.5-month program reduces the number of falls over the course of one year. If the results are promising, it could pave the way for designing a larger clinical study.
The pilot study will be supported by the VA’s Career Development Program, which helps early-career researchers build independent research profiles. Hsieh is being mentored by a multidisciplinary group of experts from the VA, Emory University School of Medicine, the Shepherd Center, and Georgia State’s Lewis College.
MS is a disease in which the immune system wrongly attacks healthy tissue in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in inflammation and damage to nerve cells. This often causes problems with balance and movement, increasing the risk of falls.
Combining exercise with cognitive rehab
About one in four older adults falls each year, and falls may be more common among those with MS, Hsieh said.
Exercise alone has been shown to help adults with MS improve their walking ability and maintain balance. What researchers do not yet know is whether adding cognitive training will enhance those improvements.
Both exercise and cognitive training are believed to help protect the brain, a process known as neuroprotection. Mechanisms of neuroprotection involve increasing proteins that support the growth and function of nerve cells, and reducing inflammatory proteins that contribute to lasting nervous system inflammation, which can worsen MS symptoms.
Study participants will participate in a 10-week program that includes walking, strength training, and RehaCom, a computer-based tool designed to improve cognitive skills such as attention, concentration, and memory.
Hsieh’s team will use mouth swabs from participants to measure brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), which helps nerve cells grow and survive, as well as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), which are both pro-inflammatory molecules.
“Measuring the levels of the neuroinflammatory biomarkers will give us a better understanding of what’s happening inside the nervous system after exercising,” Hsieh said.
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