Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) in Psychomotor Disadaptation Syndrome (TERV-SDPM)

February 24, 2026 updated by: Hopital Nord Franche-Comte

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) for Balance in Patients Suffering From Psychomotor Disadaptation Syndrome

According to demographic projections, by 2040, a quarter of the French population will be over 65. In this age group, the quality and quantity of visual, somaesthetic and vestibular information decline. This weakening of the balancing and the recurrence of falls lead to a restriction of activities of daily living and give rise to a fear of falling.

Psychomotor maladjustment syndrome (PMDS) is a serious consequence of falls. A significant retropulsion when sitting or standing, as well as hypertonia characterize the posturobehavioral component of PMDS. It coexists with a psychological component, marked by a fear of the anterior emptiness. A series of studies inducing fear and experimentally manipulating its intensity demonstrated a greater displacement of the center of pressure when subjects were exposed to elevated platforms. In addition to the subjective evaluation of fear, this emotion can be assessed by heart rate variability.

Despite the existence of standards and metrics adapted to the clinical setting, only one study investigated the association between the number of falls and heart rate variability in patients with neurodegenerative disorders. In recent years, cognitive and behavioral therapies using virtual reality (TERV) have improved balance in patients with cardiovascular disease and Parkinson's disease. Virtual reality (VR) thus appears to be an interesting therapeutic approach to the treatment of psychological as well as postural-behavioral disorders of PDMS. Although the feasibility of a VR intervention has been tested in elderly people (APs) suffering from PMDS, its effect has never been evaluated.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

24

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • France
      • Trévenans, France, 90400
        • Hôpital Nord Franche-Comté
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients diagnosed with PMDS
  • Ability to stand without human or technical assistance
  • Falls Efficacy Scale International Short (FES-I short) > 13
  • Functional Reach Test (FRT) score < 26 cm
  • Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≥ 20

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with disorders that may interfere with immersion in virtual reality (e.g. cerebellar syndromes, Parkinsonian syndromes, hallucinations, sensory or neurocognitive disorders)
  • Cybermalaise or cyberkinetosis

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: exposure to a previous vacuum
Other: exposure to virtual reality
exposure to virtual reality
Sham Comparator: museum exposure
Other: exposure to virtual reality
exposure to virtual reality

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Balance
Time Frame: Day 1
Average velocity variance of the center of pressure (cm/s) measured by a stabilometric measurement platform before, immediately after, then post-24h exposure to VR
Day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Hopital Nord Franche-Comte

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

April 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 25, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 18, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

March 19, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 25, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 24, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2024-03-TERV-SDPM

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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