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Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions
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ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions researcher Katherine Hsieh a $1 million grant to study whether cognitive training, along with exercise, can help reduce the risk of falls in older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS).
“Falls are so common — and frightening — in older adults,” said Hsieh, an assistant professor of physical therapy. “One of four older adults fall each year, and they can cause a number of serious injuries, from hip fractures to traumatic brain injuries. But for people with MS, who often already face challenges with balance and coordination, falls can cause even more serious outcomes.”
The study will enroll 30 veterans ages 55 years and older with MS through the VA Atlanta Health Care System. Over 10 weeks, they will take part in a comprehensive program combining walking, strength training and RehaCom, a computer-based cognitive rehabilitation program used to improve attention, concentration and memory.
While exercise alone is known to improve gait and balance in people with MS, whether pairing it with cognitive training can amplify those benefits is less clear, Hsieh said.
Exercise and cognitive training are each thought to provide neuroprotection by increasing the proteins that promote the growth and function of neurons and by decreasing inflammatory factors in the nervous system. Hsieh and her research team will swab participants’ mouths to measure the level of neuroinflammatory biomarkers, such as brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Some studies have shown beneficial neurotropic factors increase after aerobic exercise.
“Measuring the levels of the neuroinflammatory biomarkers will give us a better understanding of what’s happening inside the nervous system after exercising,” Hsieh said.
Participants will be followed for one year to assess whether the combined program reduces the number of falls. Findings from this pilot study could pave the way for a larger trial.
The project is funded through the VA’s Career Development Program, which supports emerging researchers on the path to independent VA-funded careers. Hsieh’s multidisciplinary mentorship team includes experts from the VA, Emory University School of Medicine, the Shepherd Center and Georgia State's Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions.
Featured Researcher
Katherine Hsieh
Assistant Professor
Department of Physical Therapy
Hsieh's research focuses on studying the control of human movement to prevent fall-related injuries and improve functional independence in older adults. Her work seeks to leverage innovative technologies (e.g., mobile technology, virtual reality, wearable sensors) to prevent falls in older adults by providing personalized, multifactorial fall risk screening and tailored fall prevention interventions.