STIM-HD, V1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The use of neuromuscular electrical STIMulation as a treatment for sarcopenia in people on HaemoDialysis - STIM-HD
IRAS ID
327885
Contact name
James Burton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leicester
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 5 months, 29 days
Research summary
Background
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is an illness where the kidneys gradually lose their ability to work properly. It is relatively common, affecting about 14% of the adult UK population. Sometimes, when kidney function becomes so low, people have to start kidney dialysis, which replaces the function of the kidney. Whilst this is lifesaving, it does have a big effect on people’s well-being and their ability to perform everyday tasks as people say they notice their muscles get smaller and weaker (which is a condition called sarcopenia). These symptoms are not only troubling to the individual, but having sarcopenia means the person has poorer clinical outcomes. Therefore, any intervention that is capable of building muscles back up again would have a beneficial effect upon physical function, quality of life, well-being and clinical outcomes.
Our group has completed four exercise training studies in people with CKD both needing and not yet needing dialysis. These studies clearly show a benefit of exercise, but a large number of people did not want to exercise, or were not well enough. Therefore, it is important to find an alternative intervention capable of delivering some of the same benefits as exercise, but that is more accessible. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), is a well-tolerated rehabilitation technique that increases muscle mass and strength. It’s a small device that delivers tiny electrical impulses to the muscles via electrodes placed on the skin. It’s so widely used that these devices are available to buy in high street shops. It is possible that NMES might be a good way to help people on dialysis build up muscle mass and strength, but there is not enough research to confirm this. This is what we want to investigate here.Aim
To find out if NMES can be used as a treatment for sarcopenia in people on dialysis.Design
228 haemodialysis patients across three centres who have been diagnosed as having some level of sarcopenia will be randomly assigned to either receive the NMES intervention or continue with their usual care. Before people start in the study, we will perform a number of tests that give us information on their muscle mass and strength, physical function, activity levels and quality of life. The NMES intervention will be given 3 times a week during dialysis for 3-months with each session building up to 30-minutes, if that is tolerated. Patients will be in control of how strong the electrical pulse is that is delivered, and we will ask them to gradually increase it over time to the most that they can manage. After the three-month period, we will repeat all the tests to see if anything has improved and how well the impact is sustained over time.REC name
Wales REC 3
REC reference
24/WA/0339
Date of REC Opinion
20 Nov 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion