INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 06 Program Schedule 02/15/2024 04:00 pm - 05:15 pm Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60) Poster Session 06: Aging \| MCI \| Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 2 Final Abstract #59 Exploring Cognitive Outcomes in the Physical Activity and Exercise Outcomes in Huntington’s disease (PACE-HD) Study Marina Kaplan, Temple University, Philadelphia, United States Dipti Wani, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, United States Sophia Holmqvist, Temple University, Philadelphia, United States Lori Quinn, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, United States Category: Neurodegenerative Disorders Keyword 1: Huntington's disease Keyword 2: cognitive functioning Objective: There is growing interest in understanding differences in response variance among individuals in Physical Activity (PA) intervention studies (Padilla et al., 2022). Rodent models have shown mechanistically how PA has the potential to improve cognitive performance (Wang et al., 2023). PA has been shown to be beneficial for improving motor symptoms in Huntington’s Disease (HD) (Quinn et al. 2022 & Khalil et al., 2013) and has been shown to improve cognition in other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease (Zeng et al., 2023 & Donahue et al., 2013). Initial findings from the PACE-HD study found that a 1-year PA intervention did not have a positive effect on cognitive outcomes, however it is unclear if those individuals who had improved fitness outcomes (responders) may have also had improved cognitive outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore cognitive outcomes in responders and non-responders in the PACE-HD study. Participants and Methods: 53 people with HD (PwHD) (n = 39, age [Mean ± SD] = 56 ± 10, BMI [Mean ± SD] = 25.58 ± 3.99) participated in PACE-HD RCT. Participants randomized into the intervention group were given up to 18 physical activity coaching sessions over 1-year by trained, licensed physical therapists. All participants completed assessments on aerobic fitness (predicted VO₂max) and cognitive assessments (Symbol Digit Modalities Test, Stroop Color and Word Test, Trails A and B). Responders were defined as any individual who maintained or improved their predicted VO₂max over the 1 year. We used a 2x2 repeated measures ANOVA to evaluate the factors of group (responders and non-responders) and time (baseline to 12-months). Spearman’s correlations were used to assess the relations between change in aerobic fitness and change in cognitive outcomes. Results: There was no main effect of time and group for any of the cognitive measures except for Trails A, which showed a significant time x group interaction (F(1, 29)= 4.27, p = .048). Responders performed better on Trails A than non-responders at 12-months compared to baseline. A Spearman’s correlation revealed weak or negligible relationships between the measure of aerobic fitness and all measures of cognition. Conclusions: Change in physical fitness as measured by predicted VO₂max did not show association with cognitive measures except for the Trails A test. The Trails A test measures psychomotor speed among other cognitive processes. Therefore, improvement on the Trails A could reflect the improvement of motor function as a result of the PA intervention. It is possible that the PA level of the participants in the study was not sufficient to induce cognitive benefits. Future studies should examine the influence of a different combination of type, frequency, intensity, and duration of PA that is required to lead to improvement in cognitive measures among PwHD.

Poster

02/15/2024
04:00 pm - 05:15 pm
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)

Poster Session 06: Aging | MCI | Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 2

Final Abstract #59

Exploring Cognitive Outcomes in the Physical Activity and Exercise Outcomes in Huntington’s disease (PACE-HD) Study

Marina Kaplan, Temple University, Philadelphia, United States
Dipti Wani, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, United States
Sophia Holmqvist, Temple University, Philadelphia, United States
Lori Quinn, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, United States

Category: Neurodegenerative Disorders

Keyword 1: Huntington's disease
Keyword 2: cognitive functioning

Objective:

There is growing interest in understanding differences in response variance among individuals in Physical Activity (PA) intervention studies (Padilla et al., 2022). Rodent models have shown mechanistically how PA has the potential to improve cognitive performance (Wang et al., 2023). PA has been shown to be beneficial for improving motor symptoms in Huntington’s Disease (HD) (Quinn et al. 2022 & Khalil et al., 2013) and has been shown to improve cognition in other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease (Zeng et al., 2023 & Donahue et al., 2013). Initial findings from the PACE-HD study found that a 1-year PA intervention did not have a positive effect on cognitive outcomes, however it is unclear if those individuals who had improved fitness outcomes (responders) may have also had improved cognitive outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore cognitive outcomes in responders and non-responders in the PACE-HD study.

Participants and Methods:

53 people with HD (PwHD) (n = 39, age [Mean ± SD] = 56 ± 10, BMI [Mean ± SD] = 25.58 ± 3.99) participated in PACE-HD RCT. Participants randomized into the intervention group were given up to 18 physical activity coaching sessions over 1-year by trained, licensed physical therapists. All participants completed assessments on aerobic fitness (predicted VO₂max) and cognitive assessments (Symbol Digit Modalities Test, Stroop Color and Word Test, Trails A and B). Responders were defined as any individual who maintained or improved their predicted VO₂max over the 1 year. We used a 2x2 repeated measures ANOVA to evaluate the factors of group (responders and non-responders) and time (baseline to 12-months). Spearman’s correlations were used to assess the relations between change in aerobic fitness and change in cognitive outcomes.

Results:

There was no main effect of time and group for any of the cognitive measures except for Trails A, which showed a significant time x group interaction (F(1, 29)= 4.27, p = .048). Responders performed better on Trails A than non-responders at 12-months compared to baseline. A Spearman’s correlation revealed weak or negligible relationships between the measure of aerobic fitness and all measures of cognition.

Conclusions:

Change in physical fitness as measured by predicted VO₂max did not show association with cognitive measures except for the Trails A test. The Trails A test measures psychomotor speed among other cognitive processes. Therefore, improvement on the Trails A could reflect the improvement of motor function as a result of the PA intervention. It is possible that the PA level of the participants in the study was not sufficient to induce cognitive benefits. Future studies should examine the influence of a different combination of type, frequency, intensity, and duration of PA that is required to lead to improvement in cognitive measures among PwHD.