Fine-tuned Physical Training to Improve Quality of Life in Older Individuals

The overall aim of this project, which is based upon the interdisciplinary expertise of four research groups within the University of Rome Foro Italico, in the macro-areas of psychology, bioengineering, physiology, and internal medicine, is to improve the overall health and well-being of community-dwelling frail older adults, who are often suffering from non-communicable diseases, by means of an integration of innovative cognitive and resistance-core training. Forty-five frail or pre-frail community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years will be randomly assigned to three 8-week intervention groups: A) resistance training; B) resistance-core training; C) cognitive-resistance-core training. Comparison between groups C and B will show the effects of an innovative cognitive-motor dual-task training method, which will incorporate principles of modern psychotherapeutic approaches to boost physical training, and to improve cognitive, emotional, and mood disturbances in older ages. Comparison between groups B and A will focus on the motor component of the intervention, showing the effects of adding specific core-exercises to a traditional resistance training program on muscle strength, power, and the ability to safely carry out functional abilities of daily life. As outcomes, clinical and psychological scales, cognitive tasks, and their underlying cortical mechanisms will be measured. In addition, state-of-art physiological and biomechanical methods will be used to study human kinematics, muscle synergies, and cortico-muscular coherence furthering some important neurophysiological mechanisms of motor control underlying the execution of functional tasks. The results of this project, therefore, will be of great relevance for the advancement of training-exercise methodology as well as unravelling central and peripheral mechanisms underlying frailty with the final goal of improving the quality of life in older individuals.

NCT Number	NCT07546734
Lead Sponsor	University of Rome Foro Italico
Conditions	Frail Elderly, Elderly, Aging, Aging Frailty, Sarcopenia in Elderly
Enrollment	32 participants
Start Date	2024-04-12
Primary Completion	2026-04-20 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-04-29 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-06-05