Vestibular Therapy in Alzheimer's Disease

Nearly 2 out of 3 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) experience problems with balance and mobility, which places such patients at increased risk of falling. The vestibular (inner ear balance) system plays an important role in balance stability, and vestibular therapy (VT) is well-known to improve balance function in healthy older adults. In this study, the investigators will conduct a first-in-kind randomized clinical trial to evaluate whether vestibular therapy improves reduces falls in patients with AD, in whom this treatment has never been studied.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Alzheimer Disease; Vestibular Diseases; Vestibular Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Vestibular physical therapy; Behavioral: Active control

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 100
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Yuri Agrawal, MD; Phone Number: 4105023107; Email: yagrawa1@jhmi.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Maryland
    • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21287
      • Recruiting
      • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
      • Contact: Yuri Agrawal
      • Principal Investigator: John Carey, MD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 60 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of AD based on the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer Association 2011 criteria that is mild-moderate (CDR=0.5-2).
• Age ≥ 60 years.
• Vestibular loss defined as bilaterally impaired vestibular responses (semicircular canal or otolith responses).
• Able to participate in study procedures including vestibular physiologic testing, balance and gait assessment, neurocognitive testing, and VT or active control.
• Able to give informed consent, as further detailed in the Human Subjects section. The investigators anticipate that individuals who are too impaired to provide informed consent would also not be able to effectively participate in VT or active control.
• Presence of a caregiver, defined as an individual who spends at least 10 hours per week with the patient. The caregiver must be able to participate in study procedures, specifically the text-messaging system. Both the VT and active control involve 8 weeks of once weekly visits and daily home exercises, and the investigators believe a caregiver would increase the likelihood of successful completion of either therapy.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of severe AD (CDR≥3).
• Diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or diagnosis of non-AD dementia, for example Parkinson's disease dementia, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, vascular dementia, fronto-temporal dementia, and primary progressive aphasia.
• Deemed unable to participate in study procedures and VT or active control, (e.g. patients with significant medical comorbidities, excessive agitation, or use of mobility aids such as a cane or walker.)
• Use of daily vestibular suppressant medications, specifically anti-histamines and benzodiazepines, as this can alter the response to VT.
• Lack of availability to participate in 8 weeks of VT or active control.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Vestibular therapy; Vestibular therapy (Vestibular physical therapy) entails an 8-week course of exercises delivered by a physical therapist designed to improve vestibular function.	Behavioral: Vestibular physical therapy; Vestibular therapy is a set of exercises delivered by a physical therapist involving head movements. The therapy is delivered over a course of 8 weeks.
Active Comparator: Active control; The active control regimen consists of eye movement exercises (e.g. smooth pursuit eye movements) and also general conditioning exercises (e.g. range of motion exercises, lifting light weights with the arms and legs). This regimen is "vestibular neutral" in that head movements which specifically challenge the vestibular system are avoided.	Behavioral: Active control; Strength and flexibility exercises that do not involve head movements.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of participant falls	Incidence of falls over a 1-year follow-up period	1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Johns Hopkins University
• Collaborators: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Yuri Agrawal, MD, Johns Hopkins University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Yesantharao LV, Rosenberg P, Oh E, Leoutsakos J, Munro CA, Agrawal Y. Vestibular therapy to reduce falls in people with Alzheimer's disease: study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2022 Aug 2;8(1):167. doi: 10.1186/s40814-022-01133-w.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 22, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 26, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 26, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 8, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 8, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): January 10, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 12, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 9, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders; Neurocognitive Disorders; Dementia; Tauopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases; Ear Diseases; Labyrinth Diseases; Alzheimer Disease; Vestibular Diseases
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB00273752; R01AG065259 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No