The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the effects of a high-intensity exercise program on recovery in individuals with post-stroke aphasia. The high-intensity exercise program has been specifically designed for individuals with post-stroke aphasia and includes an interval training full-body workout, which can increase cardiovascular fitness, improve muscle strength and motor performance, and maximize cognitive and language gains. The main question this study aims to answer is:
• Does participation in a high-intensity exercise program lead to changes in physical health, language, cognitive, motor recovery, psychological and/or psychosocial domains?
Participants will be randomly assigned to either a high-intensity exercise program (target intervention) or a low-intensity exercise program (control intervention) delivered over 12-weeks in a group setting.
Outcome measures will be collected once immediately after the intervention period and once during the following 12-week maintenance period to capture short- and long-term effects of the exercise program.
Aphasia following ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke
Aphasia as determined by a standardized language test (Western Aphasia Battery Aphasia Quotient < 93.8 at study intake)
At least 6 months from the last stroke
Proficient in English before the stroke
Prior history of dementia, neurologic illness (other than stroke), or recent (last 3 years) substance abuse
Significant visual or hearing disabilities (e.g., neglect, uncorrected visual or hearing loss) that interfere with testing
Self-report uncontrolled cardiorespiratory and/or metabolic disorders incompatible with exercise
University of California, Berkeley
Lead sponsor
University of California, San Francisco
Collaborator
California State University, East Bay
Collaborator
University of San Francisco
Collaborator
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Collaborator