An interventional study of Acute Intermittent Hypoxia (AIH) and Sham Acute Intermittent Hypoxia (AIH) in Multiple Sclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) - Relapsing-remitting and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Primary Progressive, sponsored by Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-08.
Sponsored by Shirley Ryan AbilityLab · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This interventional, randomized, sham-controlled study will examine whether Acute Intermittent Hypoxia (AIH) delivered immediately before Myoelectric Interface Neurorehabilitation Training (MINT)-based locomotor training improves gait in people with Multiple Sclerosis. The primary objectives are to evaluate changes in gait speed and endurance, with secondary objectives assessing spatiotemporal gait parameters, fatigue, and safety. Participants will receive AIH or sham priming followed by standardized treadmill and/or overground gait training, with outcome measures collected before and after the intervention across multiple sessions.
The study tests whether a brief breathing treatment, acute intermittent hypoxia (AIH), can make a computer-based muscle training program (MINT) more effective for people with MS who have difficulty walking. AIH involves breathing short alternating periods of low-oxygen air (about 9% oxygen versus the roughly 21% in room air) and normal room air. The premise, drawn from work in other neurological conditions like spinal cord injury, is that AIH delivered before movement training may improve strength and walking. Whether this benefits people with MS is not yet known, which is the gap the study addresses.
MINT itself uses surface EMG sensors on the leg muscles to capture muscle activity, which then controls game-like tasks on a screen. Participants practice activating the correct muscles for walking while suppressing unwanted activity.
3,264 studies on the registry are indexed under Multiple Sclerosis; 659 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 35 is below the median of 50 across 2,201 interventional studies indexed under Multiple Sclerosis.
Browse Multiple Sclerosis studies →Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is the lead sponsor of 180 studies on the registry; 44 are open to participants now.
Of its 10 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 4 (40%) have results posted.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Short tests of memory and thinking, each scored out of 30. Lower scores suggest more difficulty; criteria give a range, either to include people with memory problems or to leave them out.
MMSE and MoCA
Short tests of memory and thinking, each scored out of 30. Lower scores suggest more difficulty; criteria give a range, either to include people with memory problems or to leave them out.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Other: Acute Intermittent Hypoxia (AIH) · Other: Myoelectric Interface Neurorehabilitation Training (MINT)
Other: Sham Acute Intermittent Hypoxia (AIH) · Other: Myoelectric Interface Neurorehabilitation Training (MINT)
During AIH, the participant will be equipped with a non-rebreathing face mask, and provided with the AIH intervention. The AIH intervention involves alternating breathing cycles. One cycle involves breathing air with lower oxygen concentration (9-10% oxygen) for 30 and 90 seconds, followed by breathing normal room air (21% oxygen) for a similar duration. This cycle is repeated 15 times in one session. Blood oxygen and heart rate are monitored throughout.
During Sham AIH, the participant will be equipped with a non-rebreathing face mask, and provided with the AIH intervention. The Sham AIH intervention involves alternating breathing cycles. One cycle involves breathing air closely resembling room air (\~21% oxygen) for 30 and 90 seconds, followed by breathing normal room air (21% oxygen) for a similar duration. This cycle is repeated 15 times in one session. Blood oxygen and heart rate are monitored throughout.
MINT is a gamified rehabilitation paradigm that uses surface electromyography (sEMG) biofeedback to retrain lower-limb muscle activation patterns. The intervention is designed to reduce abnormal coactivation of agonist-antagonist muscle pairs and facilitate more efficient torque generation during functional movements. sEMG electrodes will be placed bilaterally over the tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, and quadriceps muscles. EMG signals will be acquired in real time, processed, and used to control on-screen tasks within a custom Unity-based software environment. Participants will engage in interactive tasks where selective activation of target muscles allows them to move a virtual avatar, align a gauge, or achieve movement goals while minimizing antagonist activity. Each MINT session will last approximately 60 minutes and will be delivered immediately following AIH or sham exposure. Sessions will include calibration of EMG channels, a brief familiarization period, and four to five tra
Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT)
Participants walk as far as they safely can in six minutes along a marked course, and total distance (meters) is recorded.
Time frame: Change in distance (meters) from pre-training assessment (Day 1, before the first intervention) to Immediate Post (Day 5, after the final intervention), 1-week follow-up (Day 14-21), and 1-month follow-up (Day 36-41).
Ten-Meter Walk Test (10MWT)
Measures gait speed over 10 meters at a self-selected comfortable pace, averaged across two trials.
Time frame: Baseline/pre-training (Day 1) to immediately post-intervention (Day 5), with retention assessed at the 1-week (Day 14 to 21) and 1-month (Day 36 to 41)
Stair Climb Test (SCT)
Assesses functional mobility and lower-limb power. Participants ascend a standardized 12-step staircase (17 cm per step, 2.04 m total) as quickly and safely as possible across three trials, with ascent time recorded and handrail use documented.
Time frame: Baseline/pre-training (Day 1) to immediately post-intervention (Day 5), then 1-week (Day 14 to 21) and 1-month (Day 36 to 41) follow-ups
Maximal Voluntary Contraction (MVC) Testing
Measures maximal strength of the trained leg on a Biodex dynamometer across ankle plantarflexion, dorsiflexion, knee flexion, and knee extension. Participants perform 3 to 5 maximal isometric contractions (10 seconds each) per movement while surface EMG quantifies agonist activation and antagonist coactivation.
Time frame: Baseline/pre-training (Day 1) to immediately post-intervention (Day 5), then 1-week (Day 14 to 21) and 1-month (Day 36 to 41) follow-ups
Fatigability Testing
Quantifies muscle fatigue as the percent decline in torque across 20 consecutive maximal isometric plantarflexion contractions (5 to 10 seconds each) on the Biodex, with surface EMG monitoring changes in activation and coactivation through the series.
Time frame: Baseline/pre-training (Day 1) to immediately post-intervention (Day 5), then 1-week (Day 14 to 21) and 1-month (Day 36 to 41) follow-ups
Ankle Proprioception Testing
Assesses joint sense on the trained leg via the Biodex while the participant is blindfolded with noise-cancelling headphones. It includes a movement detection threshold (trigger press when slow passive rotation is first felt, 5 to 6 trials) and joint position matching (reproducing a passively set target angle, 6 to 8 trials), with surface EMG confirming no compensatory activity.
Time frame: aseline/pre-training (Day 1) to immediately post-intervention (Day 5), then 1-week (Day 14 to 21) and 1-month (Day 36 to 41) follow-ups
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Plan to share: No — We do not currently have a plan to share IPD.
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