Clinical trials

To investigate the effect of an fitness advice and resistance band exercise intervention on balance, muscle function, and power in an older people population who have low muscle power.

Currently, treatments for mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are pharmacological and predominantly focus on the physical symptoms of the disease. In the general population and individuals with disabilities, increasing physical activity levels and reducing sedentary time can be an effective, non-pharmacological treatment to improve mental health and quality of life. Such interventions have not yet been developed or evaluated in people with MPS. The aim of this study is to co-design a physical activity and sedentary behaviour intervention tailored to the needs of adults with MPS. The study will seek to gain the expertise of adults with MPS, specialist stakeholders (physicians and clinical nurse specialists) and lay specialist stakeholders (family and friends of adults with MPS and members of staff and volunteers at the Society for Mucopolysaccharide Diseases). A range of views and experiences of physical activity and sedentary behaviour will be explored via focus groups (with individuals with MPS and lay specialist stakeholders) and semi-structured interviews (with specialist stakeholders). The information gathered from the focus groups and interviews will then be utilised to inform participatory workshops (with individuals with MPS) to test intervention concepts. Data from these activities will inform the design of a future intervention.

The aim of this project is to test the rate of cooling following exercise in the heat utilising the CRYOGENX Cryosuit device i) against passive cooling, and ii) to quantify the rate of cooling and compare this rate with established cooling intervention thresholds i.e. -0.11 to 0.15°C.min-1. As this project is to determine the efficacy of the intervention in populations equivalent to sporting and military personnel, these aims will be tested in young (18-40 year old) healthy male and female participants whom participate in regular physical activity. As a commercially funded project, the experimental design implemented will closely replicate that of the independent investigation into the efficacy of the CAERvest® device.