VR therapy offers new hope for 'Sea Legs' disorder
NCT ID NCT05460520
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests a virtual reality therapy for Mal de Débarquement Syndrome (MdDS), a balance disorder causing persistent rocking or swaying sensations. Two hundred participants will undergo five days of treatment using VR to retrain their balance system. The goal is to improve symptoms and reduce sensitivity to motion, with follow-up for up to six months.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- VOR readaptation therapy using virtual reality
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a more accessible and effective treatment for Mal de Débarquement Syndrome, potentially reducing or eliminating symptoms like rocking and swaying sensations.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage trial with no prior results for the VR-based approach. The therapy may not work for all patients, and some may experience no improvement or temporary side effects like dizziness.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 200 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2023
- Expected to finish
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Apr 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 78 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Conformable diagnosis of Mal de Débarquement Syndrome including significant improvement of symptoms with passive motion. Exclusion Criteria: * A history of abnormal inner ear or central vestibular function indicated by abnormal nystagmography test (abnormal saccades or pursuit, VOR suppression index \<85%, no caloric response, decay time constant of response to rotation less than 10 seconds, spontaneous nystagmus). * Confounding neurological disorders (e.g., multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, epilepsy, blindness etc.). * A history of leg, spine, or other injuries that affect their ability to stand or walk without assisting support. * High level of anxiety as indicated by State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (≥75) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (≥55). * Claustrophobia. * Patients previously treated with VOR readaptation technique are excluded.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 10029, United States