Manuela Corti, PhD and Tanja Taivassalo, PhD will lead a feasibility & efficacy study of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) cycling training to improve motor and cardiac functions in patients with Friedreich Ataxia.
The purpose of this exploratory study is to assess the feasibility and potential efficacy of a novel therapeutic strategy involving Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) cycle exercise training in patients with Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA). This pilot study will take advantage of innovative FES technology paired with isokinetic cycling provided by the MyoCycle Home FES Cycling Therapy System (Myolyn, LLC, Gainesville, Florida) and use a home-based, remotely supervised training strategy to encourage feasibility and compliance to the protocol. This study will recruit six non-ambulatory FA patients to assess the effect of training with cycling plus FES versus cycling alone. The investigators will test feasibility, motor function and exercise capacity using integrative, non-invasive approaches, including novel magnetic resonance imaging techniques to assess functional and morphological changes in the heart and skeletal muscle.