To examine the effectiveness of VR from a case of successful 2-week intervention with VR for SCA type 6 (SCA6).
A woman in her 60s presented with vertigo in 2017. Cerebellar atrophy became more prominent, and she received a confirmed diagnosis of SCA6 by genetic testing in 2021. She continued to experience dizziness and progressive gait disturbance. She required Nordic walking poles for walking but experienced an increasing frequency of falls. Consequently, the patient was admitted to our hospital on X, 2024, for rehabilitation. Scale for the Assessment and Rating of ataxia (SARA), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), 10 Meter Walk Test (10MWT), and Timed Up and Go test (TUG) were performed on the day of admission. The next day, patient commenced a seated reach task using VR (mediVR KAGURA: mediVR, Toyonaka, Japan). The task consisted of reaching for a target displayed in the VR space. Upon contact with the target, visual, auditory, and vibrotactile feedback was provided. This intervention was conducted for 30 minutes twice daily, five days a week, for two weeks.
SARA and BBS showed an improvement of 6 and 7 points, respectively. In the 10MWT, comfortable speed and maximum speed without a cane improved by 2.5 seconds and 2.7 seconds, respectively. The TUG time without a cane also decreased by 5.1 seconds. The participant no longer required a cane on a daily basis and could ascend and descend stairs unassisted.
This intervention was conducted exclusively in a seated position without incorporating standing balance or gait training, demonstrated improvements in balance ability and gait speed. These findings suggest that the VR-based intervention was effective.
In this case, the impact of VR may be attributed to the input of multisensory stimuli, which could have facilitated plasticity within the brain's residual functions and compensatory networks. Since the case was relatively mild, it is thought that the effect was achieved even in a short period of 2 weeks. Nonetheless, longitudinal follow-up is necessary to determine the long-term sustainability of these effects.
virtual reality
gait
