UNMC Grants — Dr. Padala investigates Wii-Fit uses for Alzheimer’s patients

UNMC’s Kalpana Padala, M.D., has received two national research awards to investigate whether use of Nintendo’s Wii-Fit can improve balance and quality of life for those with Alzheimer’s dementia (AD).

Dr. Padala is currently finishing a pilot randomized study using Wii-Fit on 22 patients with mild AD and balance problems who live in an assisted-living facility. The study is supported by a $15,000 grant from the American Medical Director’s Association.

Kalpana Padala, M.D.

More recently, she received the 2009 New Investigator grant from the Alzheimer’s Association. The two-year, $80,000 grant will help Dr. Padala study effects of using Wii-Fit on balance, gait and physical activity in 30 community dwelling subjects with mild Alzheimer’s disease.

“It is known that exercise interventions improve gait and balance in the elderly,” said Dr. Padala, an assistant professor and geriatrician in the department of family medicine. “However, it is difficult to engage patients with AD in long-term exercise programs. Our team wants to see if Wii-Fit might fill the gap.”

Collaborators William Burke, M.D., A.O. Stake professor and vice chairman of psychiatry is Dr. Padala’s primary mentor on the Alzheimer’s Association grant. She also will work with: Jane Potter, M.D., the Neuman and Mildred Harris professor and section chief of geriatrics and Helen McIlvain, Ph.D., professor and director of research in department of family medicine; and Nick Stergiou, Ph.D., Isaacson professor and director of the Nebraska Biomechanics Core Facility at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

AD contributes to:

• Poor balance;
  
• Impaired gait; and
  
• Impaired functional status.

AD also increases the risk of falls and hip fractures.

Those with balance problems and gait impairments are more likely to need long-term care and are at higher-risk for death related to falls.

Wii-Fit is an interactive video-game console that consists of yoga, aerobics, strength-training and balance activities.

Dr. Padala also will investigate whether quality of life, executive function and memory improves in subjects who use Wii-Fit on regular basis.

“With these pilot studies, we hope to better understand the mechanisms and antecedents of falls in those with AD,” Dr. Padala said. “This will help us better understand how to prevent falls in this population.”