Protocol for a randomised controlled feasibility trial of HD-DRUM, a rhythmic movement training application for cognitive and motor symptoms in people with Huntington?s disease.

Ioakeimidis, Vasileios, Busse, Monica ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-5909, Drew, Cheney ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4397-6252, Pallmann, Philip ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8274-9696, Jones, Derek K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4409-8049, Rosser, Anne E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4716-4753, Palombo, Marco ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4892-7967, Schubert, Robin and Metzler-Baddeley, Claudia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8646-1144 2023. Protocol for a randomised controlled feasibility trial of HD-DRUM, a rhythmic movement training application for cognitive and motor symptoms in people with Huntington?s disease. [Online]. medRxiv: medRxiv. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.15.23298581

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Abstract

Introduction Huntington’s disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease causing progressive cognitive and motor decline, largely due to basal ganglia (BG) atrophy. Rhythmic training offers promise as therapy to counteract BG-regulated deficits. We have developed HD-DRUM, a tablet-based app to enhance movement synchronization skills and improve cognitive and motor abilities in people with HD. This paper outlines a randomised controlled trial protocol to determine the feasibility of a larger effectiveness trial for HD-DRUM. Additionally, the trial investigates cognitive and motor function measures, along with brain microstructure, aiming to advance our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying training effects. Methods, Design & Analysis Fifty individuals with HD, confirmed by genetic testing, and a Total Functional Capacity (TFC) score of 9-13, will be recruited into a two-arm randomised controlled feasibility trial. Consenting individuals with HD will be randomised to the intervention group, which entails eight weeks of at-home usage of HD-DRUM, or a usual- activity control group. All participants will undergo cognitive and motor assessments, alongside ultra-strong gradient (300mT/m) brain microstructural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before and after the eight-week period. The feasibility assessment will encompass recruitment, retention, adherence, and acceptability of HD-DRUM following pre- specified criteria. The study will also evaluate variations in cognitive and motor performance and brain microstructure changes resulting from the intervention to determine effect size estimates for future sample size calculations.

Item Type:	Website Content
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Publisher:	medRxiv
Last Modified:	29 Nov 2023 13:10
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/163938

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