Neuroplastic Changes Due to an Exercise Intervention That Aid in Lower Limb Recovery After Subcortical Stroke

Conditions

• Stroke
• Subcortical Lesions

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

18 Years - 80 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• HIIT intervention — BEHAVIORAL
  Three weekly 25-60 minute cycling sessions for 12 weeks for a total of 36 HIIT sessions. Each exercise session will start with a 5 minute warm up, followed by 20 minutes or more of moderate to intense cycling. Each session, the time will increase by one minute. The trained exercise physiologist may ask the participant to cruise (cycle at a comfortable pace), sprint (cycle faster), or climb (increase gear) in order to generate intervals of moderate and high intensity exercise during the session. During HIIT sessions 1, 4, 7, 10, and 28 the participant's blood lactate will be measured via finger prick 7 times each session (for a total of 35 finger pricks) to assess if their lactate threshold is surpassed during HIIT. One week before the intervention and one week after, the participant will be asked to take part in an assessment of lower extremity motor function including walking speed, and a 90-minute MRI session for a brain scan.

Study Details

This study aims to develop imaging-based biomarkers to assess which chronic stroke participant with lower extremity disability may respond or resist high intensity interval training (HIIT). Previous research suggests that physical exercise training is safe and could help improve the walking speed of non-ambulatory stroke survivors. However, inter-individual variability in response to exercise is extraordinarily high regardless of adherence, and predictors of response remain elusive. Chronic stroke survivors with lower limb disability resulting in slow walking speeds will participate in 12 weeks of cycling exercise at Emory University under the guidance of a physical exercise instructor, 3 days a week, for 25-60 minutes. During some of the exercise sessions, the investigators will collect blood lactate with a finger prick. Brain scans with an MRI before and after the 12 weeks of exercise will be done; motor function tests that include walking, sitting down, standing up, and turning around will be collected. Participants' memory and thinking will be assessed, and participants will fill out questionnaires about their health before and after their stroke, and well as questions about their diet. The participation will last between 14-16 weeks (up to 42 study visits).

Key Dates

Start date

Jul 31, 2026

Status verified

Jun 2026

Primary completion

Mar 31, 2027

Completion

Mar 31, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment

55 participants (estimated)

Allocation

NA

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Arms

• Experimental: HIIT intervention in chronic subcortical stroke participants
  The HIIT consists of three weekly 25-60 minute cycling sessions for 12 weeks at Emory University, administered by a trained exercise physiologist, for a total of 36 HIIT sessions.

Primary Outcome Measure

Walking Speed Assessed by the 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT) [ Time Frame: 12 weeks post-intervention ]

Central Contacts

• Lisa Krishnamurthy, PhD
  404-712-5332
  [email protected]
• Susan Murphy
  404-712-1928
  [email protected]

Locations (2)

Find similar trials in Atlanta, GA

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