Home-based exergaming to treat gait and balance disorders in patients with Parkinson's disease: A phase II randomized controlled trial

Background: Exergaming has been proposed to improve gait and balance disorders in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. We aimed to assess the efficacy of a home-based, tailored, exergaming training system designed for PD patients with dopa-resistant gait and/ or balance disorders in a controlled randomized trial. Methods: We recruited PD patients with dopa-resistant gait and/or balance disorders. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1 ratio) to receive 18 training sessions at home by playing a tailored exergame with full-body movements using a motion capture system (Active group), or by playing the same game with the computer's keyboard (Control group). The primary endpoint was the between-group difference in the Stand-Walk- Sit Test (SWST) duration change after training. Secondary outcomes included parkinsonian clinical scales, gait recordings, and safety. Results: Fifty PD patients were enrolled and randomized. After training, no significant difference in SWST change was found between groups (mean change SWST duration [SD] -3.71 [18.06] s after Active versus -0.71 [3.41] s after Control training, p = 0.61).Some 32% of patients in the Active and 8% in the Control group were considered responders to the training program (e.g., SWST duration change >= 2 s, p = 0.03). The clinical severity of gait and balance disorders also significantly decreased after Active training, with a between-group difference in favor of the Active training ( p = 0.0082). Home-based training induced no serious adverse events. Conclusions: Home-based training using a tailored exergame can be performed safely by PD patients and could improve gait and balance disorders. Future research is needed to investigate the potential of exergaming.