Table 2.
Characteristics of the included studies.
| Author | Sample Size | Age (Years) | ALS Time | Intervention | Session Frequency | Outcome Variables |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marques Braga et al., (2018) [9] | 50 (48) G1 = SC: 25 (24) G2 = AECI: 25 (24) |
G1: 63 (±13.0) G2: 62 (±12.0) |
G1 = SC: 9.5 months G2 = AECI: 9 months |
G1 AECI: Aerobic exercise of controlled and moderate intensity + SC G2 SC: Standard care (ROM + Gear) |
G1: AECI (2 sessions/week) + daily SC—6 months G2: daily SC—6 months |
ALSFRS-R CPET FVC, FSS |
| Kitano et al., (2018) [14] | 105 G1 = Home-ex: 21 (15) G2 = Control: 84 |
G1: 62.8 (±10.2) G2: 62.7 (±12.1) |
G1: 2.2 (±2.4) years G2: 1.5 (±1.7) years |
Strength, functional and stretching exercises for upper limbs and trunk muscles | Daily/individualized frequency for 6 months. G1 = unsupervised | ALSFRS-R MMT |
| Sivaramakrishnan et al., (2019) [16] | 9 G1 = Aerobic G: 9 |
G1: 59.22 (±12.3) | G1: 2.37 (±1.9) years | Reclining stepped aerobic exercise of moderate intensity. 70 steps/minute. |
40 min. 3 sessions a week. For 4 weeks. |
ALSFRS-R 6MWD, TUG FSS, SF-12, BDI |
| Clawson et al., (2017) [13] | 59 G1 = ROM: 21 G2 = RESISTANCE: 18 G3 = ENDURANCE: 20 |
G1: 57.68 (±9.72) G2: 63.65 (±10.55) G3: 57.82 (±11.88) |
G1: 11.08 (±13.21) G2: 7.25 (±7.21) G3: 7.30 (±6.80) months |
G1: Held stretches (30 s) G2: strength exercises (70% RM) G3: moderate/high intensity resistance exercises. |
3 sessions a week. For 6 months. |
ALSFRS-R FVC, FSS ASS, VAS VO2 MÁX |
| Kato et al., (2018) [5] | 2 G1 = Strength G: 2 |
G1: 56 (±8) | G1: 1.1 (±0.5) years | Moderate/high intensity strength and endurance exercises. | 30 min. 7 sessions a week, For 2 weeks. |
ALSFRS-R KEMS, FVC FAC |
| Van Groenestijn et al., (2019) [17] | 57 (32) G1 = AET: 27 (10) G2 = UC: 30 (22) |
G1: 60.9 (±10) G2: 59.9 (±10.7) |
G1: 15.5 (±10.9) G2: 18 (±14.0) months |
G1 AET: Aerobic exercise therapy in cycle ergometer + UC G2 UC: usual care |
50 min. 3 sessions a week. For 16 weeks. |
ALSFRS-R ALSAQ-40+FS-36 MCS, PCS, FVC |
| Ferri et al., (2019) [12] | 16 G1= TRAIN: 8 G2= UC: 8 |
G1: 50.7 (±3.3) G2: 55.5 (±5.95) |
G1: 20.5 (±20.3) G2: 13.4 (±6.6) months |
G1 TRAIN: Moderate/high intensity aerobic and strength exercise. G2 UC: usual care |
50 min. 3 sessions a week. For 12 weeks. |
ALSFRS-R 6MWD, TUG VO2 MAX, Mc GILL |
| Merico et al., (2018) [11] | 38 G1 = EP: 23 G2 = SNT: 15 |
G1: 61.6 (±10.6) G2: 59.8 (±14.7) |
G1: 30.2 (±11.8) G2: 30.3 (±6.7) months |
G1 EP: Submaximal aerobic exercise 65% HR and 80% strength RM G2 SNT: neuromotor standard exercise |
50 min. 7 sessions a week. For 5 weeks. |
ALSFRS-R 6MWT, FIM, CK FSS, VO2 MAX |
| Zucchi et al., (2019) [10] | 65 G1 = IER: 32 G2 = UER: 33 |
G1: 65.14 (±9.90) G2: 64.74 (±10.10) |
G1: 15.67 (±9.74) G2: 16.64 (±8.98) months |
G1: High frequency aerobic and resistance training. G2: Aerobic exercise, low frequency. |
45 min. G1: 5/week and G2: 2/week For 10 weeks. |
ALSFRS-R FVC FSS ALSAQ-40 + Mc GILL |
| Lunetta et al., (2015) [15] | 60 (47) G1 = SMEP: 30 (22) G2 = UCP: 30 (25) |
G1: 61.1 (±10.1) G2: 60.3 (±9.9) |
G1: 15.2 (±7.2) G2: 13.7 (±6.1) months |
G1 SMEP: passive, active and cycle ergometer exercises, strictly supervised. G2 UCP: passive habitual care. |
G1: and G2: 2/week For 6 months. |
ALSFRS-R FVC |
ALSFRS-R: revised functional scale for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALSAQ-40: Assessment of subjective health status in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ASS: Ashworth Spasticity Scale, BDI: Beck’s depression inventory, CPET: cardiopulmonary exercise test, FAC: functional walking test, FIM: functional measure of independence, FSS: fatigue severity scale, FVC: forced vital capacity, KC: creatine kinase, KEMS: strength knee extensor muscles, MCS: mental component summary, MMT: manual muscle test, PCS: physical component summary, ROM: Range of Motion; TUG: get up and walk test, VAS: visual analog scale, VO2Máx: maximum oxygen consumption, 6MWD: 6 min walk test.