Dance Exercise for Down Syndrome
(DANCE-DS Trial)
Recruiting in Palo Alto (17 mi)
Age: 18 - 65
Sex: Any
Travel: May Be Covered
Time Reimbursement: Varies
Trial Phase: Academic
Recruiting
Sponsor: University of Kansas Medical Center
Disqualifiers: Cancer, Recent heart attack, Stroke, others
No Placebo Group
Trial Summary
What is the purpose of this trial?The investigators are assessing acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of an remote choreographed exercise intervention using validated scales alongside qualitative data among young adults with Down Syndrome. Participants will take part in a 12-week exercise program with two 35-minute session per week delivered in a group setting. The aims of the project are to:
* Assess the feasibility of a 12 week remotely delivered group dance intervention.
* Assess changes in aerobic fitness and cognitive function in response to a 12 week remotely delivered group dance intervention.
* Assess the intensity and total energy expenditure of remotely delivered group dance sessions.
Will I have to stop taking my current medications?
The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.
What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment for decreasing Alzheimer's risk in individuals with Down Syndrome?
Research shows that exercise programs, including dance and aerobic activities, can improve mood, physical fitness, and cognitive function in individuals with Alzheimer's disease. These benefits suggest that similar exercise interventions might help reduce Alzheimer's risk in people with Down Syndrome.
12345Is dance exercise safe for people with Down syndrome?
Research on physical activity, including dance exercise, for people with Down syndrome shows it is generally safe and can improve cognitive function and quality of life. Studies have not reported significant safety concerns, suggesting it is a safe activity for this group.
678910How is the Decreasing Alzheimer's Risk Through oNline Choreographed Exercise - Down Syndrome Program treatment different from other treatments for Down Syndrome?
This treatment is unique because it uses dance exercise, which combines physical activity with music and social interaction, to potentially improve cognitive function and reduce Alzheimer's risk in individuals with Down Syndrome. Unlike traditional treatments, it is delivered online, making it accessible remotely and allowing for choreographed exercises that can be done at home.
1112131415Eligibility Criteria
This trial is for young adults with Down Syndrome who lead a sedentary lifestyle and are interested in participating in a remote exercise program. The goal is to see if this program can be done easily and if it's suitable for them.Inclusion Criteria
I own a device that can connect to the internet and can join video calls twice a week.
I have been diagnosed with Down syndrome.
Ability to participate in Moderate to vigorous physical activity
+2 more
Exclusion Criteria
I am not willing to participate in follow-up assessments.
I have a serious health condition like cancer, heart issues, or am pregnant.
This criterion seems to be incomplete. Could you provide more details?
Trial Timeline
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
2-4 weeks
Treatment
Participants engage in a 12-week remotely delivered group dance intervention with two 35-minute sessions per week
12 weeks
24 sessions (virtual)
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for changes in aerobic fitness and cognitive function after the intervention
4 weeks
Participant Groups
The study tests a 12-week online group dance program, where participants will have two 35-minute sessions each week. It aims to check the ease of doing the dance remotely, its impact on fitness and thinking skills, and how much energy it uses.
1Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Group I: Decreasing Alzheimer's Risk Through oNline Choreographed Exercise - Down SyndromeExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
Participants will be asked to play attend 35 minute, remotely delivered, group exercise classes using choreographed exercise twice a week for 12 weeks.
Find a Clinic Near You
Research Locations NearbySelect from list below to view details:
University Of Kansas Medical CenterKansas City, KS
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Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
University of Kansas Medical CenterLead Sponsor
References
Student-led exercise sessions yield significant fitness gains for Alzheimer's patients. [2022]At a time when they are losing skills in virtually all arenas of life, persons with Alzheimer's disease can experience significant, esteem-building achievements in physical fitness and mood through supervised participation in an exercise program. The effects of physical exercise plus cognitive and social stimulation on persons with early stage Alzheimer's disease were assessed in a longitudinal study. Twenty-four such individuals, aged 54 to 88 at program entry, participated in 16 to 20 exercise sessions and 10 community activity sessions per semester for two to eight semesters. Half of the weekly exercise sessions included memory and language stimulation activities. Students, supplemented by family caregivers, supervised the sessions. Exercise sessions consisted of flexibility, balance, aerobic, and weight resistance activities. Preparticipation and semiannual post-testing of aerobic fitness and duration and upper and lower body strength was done. Highly significant fitness gains (p
A home health care approach to exercise for persons with Alzheimer's disease. [2019]Regular exercise is a mainstay of preventive health care for individuals of all ages. Research with older adults has shown that exercise reduces risk of chronic illness, maintains mobility and function, enhances mood, and may even improve cognitive function. For individuals with dementia, exercise programs are particularly likely to improve health, mood, and quality of life; the challenge at this time is to make exercise accessible and enjoyable, demonstrate its benefits, and convince family caregivers of its worth for individuals with dementia. Home health providers are uniquely positioned to assist caregivers in developing and implementing a home exercise program for their care recipient with dementia. Results of a controlled critical trial conducted at the University of Washington have demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of a home health exercise and problem solving intervention (Reducing Disability in Alzheimer's Disease, or RDAD) for decreasing physical, psychological, and behavioral disabilities associated with dementia. This article describes the RDAD program, discusses the role of home health providers in its delivery, and provides an example of its implementation.
Aerobic exercise for Alzheimer's disease: A randomized controlled pilot trial. [2023]There is increasing interest in the role of physical exercise as a therapeutic strategy for individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). We assessed the effect of 26 weeks (6 months) of a supervised aerobic exercise program on memory, executive function, functional ability and depression in early AD.
Biodanza as a Nonpharmacological Dance Movement-Based Treatment in Older People With Alzheimer's Disease: An Italian Pilot Study in 2 Tuscan Nursing Homes. [2023]The aim of this pilot, feasibility study was to assess health improvements in 16 institutionalized older people with Alzheimer's disease, after the Biodanza intervention, a nonpharmacological dance movement-based treatment. Biodanza significantly decreased agitated and neuropsychiatric behaviors. Effectiveness studies will be performed in order to assess the implication of such interventions.
Exercise program for nursing home residents with Alzheimer's disease: a 1-year randomized, controlled trial. [2022]To investigate the effectiveness of an exercise program in improving ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs), physical performance, and nutritional status and decreasing behavioral disturbance and depression in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).
The promotion of physical activity for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down Syndrome: Rationale and design for a 12 Month randomized trial. [2023]Nearly all individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) display pathology associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) beginning as early as age 30. Previous research in typically developed adults suggests that increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) may improve cognitive function and protect against age-related structural and functional changes in the brain; however, the potential impact of increased MVPA on the development of AD in adults with DS has not been evaluated. Despite the potential positive impact of MVPA on cognition and AD risk, participation in MVPA among young adults with DS is low. The limited research evaluating strategies for increasing MVPA in adults with DS has been unsuccessful in increasing MVPA. Results from our preliminary investigation where we remotely delivered real-time MVPA, led by a trained health educator, to groups of adults with DS in their homes via video conferencing on a tablet computer demonstrated high attendance, increased MVPA during group sessions, and improvements in cognitive function. However, the sustainability, impact on total daily MVPA, optimal session frequency, and potential impacts on cognitive function and brain health of remotely delivered group MVPA sessions in adults with DS are unknown. Therefore, we will conduct a trial in 80 non-demented adults with DS to determine the feasibility and potential efficacy of remotely delivered group MVPA sessions to increase daily MVPA, relative to a usual care control. Secondarily we will assess the impact of MVPA on cardiovascular fitness, quality of life, cognitive function and brain parameters related to AD.
Physical activity and cognitive and imaging biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in down syndrome. [2022]Adults with Down syndrome (DS) are at risk for Alzheimer's disease. Despite sharing trisomy 21, however, there is variability in the age of disease onset. This variability may mean that other factors, such as lifestyle, influence cognitive aging and disease timing. The present study assessed the association between everyday life physical activity using an actigraph accelerometer and cognitive functioning and early Alzheimer's disease pathology via positron emission tomography amyloid-β and tau and diffusion tension imaging measures of white matter integrity in 61 non-demented adults with DS. Percent time in sedentary behavior and in moderate-to-vigorous activity were associated (negatively and positively, respectively) with cognitive functioning (r = -.472 to .572, p
The Association between Physical Activity and CAMDEX-DS Changes Prior to the Onset of Alzheimer's Disease in Down Syndrome. [2022]People with Down syndrome are at ultra-high risk of developing Alzheimer's dementia. At present, there are no preventative or curative treatments. Evidence from sporadic Alzheimer's disease literature suggests that lifestyle factors including physical activity may help maintain cognitive and functional skills and reduce dementia risk. Our study aimed to explore the association between regular exercise undertaken by participants with Down syndrome and changes in dementia-related domains of cognition and function. This was to consider whether physical activity may be a protective measure to delay cognitive decline and dementia in Down syndrome.
Changes in cognitive function after a 12-week exercise intervention in adults with Down syndrome. [2023]Between 250,000 and 400,000 individuals in the United States are diagnosed with Down syndrome (DS). Nearly all adults with DS will develop Alzheimer's disease pathology starting in their thirties. Recent studies suggest that increased physical activity (PA) may be important for maintaining components of cognition, including memory.
Physical activity, memory function, and hippocampal volume in adults with Down syndrome. [2023]Higher engagement in moderate-intensity physical activity (PA) is related to better cognitive functioning in neurotypical adults; however, little is known about the effect of PA on cognitive aging in adults with Down syndrome (DS). Individuals with DS have three copies of chromosome 21, which includes the gene involved in the production of the amyloid precursor protein, resulting in an increased risk for an earlier onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The goal of this study was to understand the relationship between engagement in moderate PA, memory, and hippocampal volume in adults with DS. Adults with DS participated in an ancillary Lifestyle study linked to the Alzheimer's Biomarkers Consortium for DS (ABC- DS; N = 71). A within-sample z-score memory composite was created from performance on the Cued Recall Test (CRT) and the Rivermead Picture Recognition Test. Participants wore a wrist-worn accelerometer (GT9X) to measure PA. Variables of interest included the average percentage of time spent in moderate PA and average daily steps. Structural MRI data were acquired within 18 months of actigraphy/cognitive data collection for a subset of participants (n = 54). Hippocampal volume was extracted using Freesurfer v5.3. Associations between moderate PA engagement, memory, and hippocampal volume were evaluated with hierarchical linear regressions controlling for relevant covariates [age, body mass index, intellectual disability level, sex, and intracranial volume]. Participants were 37.77 years old (SD = 8.21) and were 55.6% female. They spent 11.1% of their time engaged in moderate PA (SD = 7.5%) and took an average of 12,096.51 daily steps (SD = 4,315.66). After controlling for relevant covariates, higher memory composite score was associated with greater moderate PA engagement (β = 0.232, p = 0.027) and more daily steps (β = 0.209, p = 0.037). In a subset of participants, after controlling for relevant covariates, PA variables were not significantly associated with the hippocampal volume (all p-values ≥ 0.42). Greater hippocampal volume was associated with higher memory composite score after controlling for relevant covariates (β = 0.316, p = 0.017). More PA engagement was related to better memory function in adults with DS. While greater hippocampal volume was related to better memory performance, it was not associated with PA. Greater PA engagement may be a promising lifestyle behavior to preserve memory in adults with DS.
Effect of dance exercise on cognitive function in elderly patients with metabolic syndrome: a pilot study. [2021]Metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment. The purpose of this prospective pilot study was to examine the effects of dance exercise on cognitive function in elderly patients with metabolic syndrome. The participants included 38 elderly metabolic syndrome patients with normal cognitive function (26 exercise group and 12 control group). The exercise group performed dance exercise twice a week for 6 months. Cognitive function was assessed in all participants using the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD-K). Repeated-measures ANCOVA was used to assess the effect of dance exercise on cognitive function and cardiometabolic risk factors. Compared with the control group, the exercise group significantly improved in verbal fluency (p = 0.048), word list delayed recall (p = 0.038), word list recognition (p = 0.007), and total CERAD-K score (p = 0.037). However, no significance difference was found in body mass index, blood pressure, waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose, triglyceride, and HDL cholesterol between groups over the 6-month period. In the present study, six months of dance exercise improved cognitive function in older adults with metabolic syndrome. Thus, dance exercise may reduce the risk for cognitive disorders in elderly people with metabolic syndrome. Key pointsMetabolic syndrome (MS) is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment.Aerobic exercise improves cognitive function in elderly people and contributes to the prevention of degenerative neurological disease and brain damage. Dance sport is a form of aerobic exercise that has the additional benefits of stimulating the emotions, promoting social interaction, and exposing subjects to acoustic stimulation and music.In the present study, dance exercise for a 6-month period improved cognitive function in older adults with MS. In particular, positive effects were observed in verbal fluency, word list delayed recall, word list recognition, and the total CERAD-K score.Our data suggest that the implementation of dance exercise programs may be an effective means of prevention and treatment of cognitive disorders.
Dance Is a Healing Art. [2023]The purpose of this review is to evaluate the health benefits of dance and dance therapy in various health domains. Dance interventions included movement therapy with certified therapists, common dances such as ballroom dancing, salsa, and cha-cha as well as ethnic dances, such as the Chinese Guozhuang Dance and the Native American jingle dance. The health domains included depression, cognitive function, neuromotor function, dementia, balance, neurological growth factors, and subjective well-being. The National Library of Medicine, Congress of Library, and the Internet were searched using the terms: dance, dance movement therapy, health, cognitive function, healing, neurological function, neuromotor function, and affective disorders from 1831 to January 2, 2023. Two-thousand five hundred and ninety-one articles were identified. Articles were selected if they provided information on the health benefits of dance in one or more of the above domains as compared to a "non-dance" control population. Studies included systematic reviews, randomized controlled studies, and long-term perspective studies. Most of the subjects in the studies were considered "elderly," which was generally defined as 65 years or older. However, the benefits of DI on executive function were also demonstrated in primary school children. Overall, the studies demonstrated that DI provided benefits in several physical and psychological parameters as well as executive function as compared with regular exercise alone. Impressive findings were that dance was associated with increased brain volume and function and neurotrophic growth function. The populations studied included subjects who were "healthy" older adults and children who had dementia, cognitive dysfunction, Parkinson's disease, or depression.
The effects of the BAILAMOS Dance Program on hippocampal volume in older Latinos: a randomized controlled pilot study. [2022]Hippocampal atrophy is associated with cognitive decline. Physical activity (PA) can reverse the hippocampal loss. This study investigated the effects of the 4 month BAILAMOS dance program on hippocampal volume and self-reported PA in Latinos. Participants were randomized to the BAILAMOS dance program or waitlist control group (N = 14, n = 10 intervention, n = 4 waitlist, 67 ± 6.1 years old, 70% female). Hippocampal volumes were derived from Magnetic Resonance Imaging whole-brain T1-weighted images. Participants self-reported PA through the Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors Physical Activity Questionnaire for older adults. There were no statistically significant changes in hippocampal volume preintervention to postintervention (F[1, 8] = .077, p = .79, d = .05) and no associations between PA change and hippocampal volume (F[4, 13] = .71, p = .61). However, dance participants self-reported more PA (d = .54) compared to the control. These findings demonstrate that the BAILAMOS dance program did not decrease hippocampal atrophy; however, it increased self-reported PA. Future studies should include longer and more cognitively demanding interventions to determine whether dance can reduce cognitive decline through hippocampal changes.
Brain structure changes in nondemented seniors after six-month dance-exercise intervention. [2020]To evaluate effects of a six-month intensive dance-exercise intervention (DI) on cognition and brain structure in a mixed group of healthy seniors and people with mild cognitive impairment.
Comparison of dance and aerobic exercise on cognition and neuropsychiatric symptoms in sedentary older adults with cognitive impairment. [2023]To compare the effects of dance and aerobic exercise on cognition and neuropsychiatric symptoms in older people with cognitive impairment.