Using gait robotics to improve symptoms of Parkinson's disease: an open-label, pilot randomized controlled trial.

This was a small pilot, so it cannot show that the exoskeleton works for most people with Parkinson's disease. The main cognition and mood outcomes were not significantly better with the exoskeleton compared with the other groups. Participants could not be blinded to wearing the exoskeleton, which can affect exercise effort and reported outcomes. The sample was relatively high functioning, with low disability and normal-range mood scores, so large changes in common Parkinson's outcomes were not expected. Sex distribution was unequal across groups and sex could not be analyzed. The six-minute walk test was added after the first cohort, so it has fewer data points. More adverse events in the exoskeleton group were judged likely or definitely related to the intervention, including muscle soreness, joint pain, hand pinch, and tripping. The paper gives opposite directions for SCOPA-COG scores in the methods and results sections, so the cognition finding is internally inconsistent.

Do not conclude that the exoskeleton alone improves Parkinson's symptoms. The exoskeleton group also received 8 weeks of twice-weekly aerobic, strength, functional mobility, and balance exercise, and the primary cognition and mood outcomes were not significantly different between groups.