- HAL® (Hybrid Assistive Limb) is a portable limb motor assistance device connected to the user via biofeedback based on cybernetic technologies and used in rehabilitation. It improved walking distance for two minutes, walking speed over 10 metres and muscle testing in 24 people with neuromuscular diseases taking part in a controlled cross-over trial between March 2013 and August 2014 in Japan. This “cybernetic” treatment has been approved in Japan since 2015.
- In Japan, leuprorelin, an anti-androgen, has been approved for the treatment of Kennedy’s disease dysphagia since 2017.
- A 39-year-old man with Kennedy disease, treated with leuprorelin, underwent a two-week session of assisted walking training with HAL® (9 sessions of 20 to 30 minutes, every other day) every two months for two years (13 sessions in total). This treatment resulted in a lasting improvement in his walking ability (+20%) and a greater reduction in CPK levels than with leuprorelin alone.
- In the long term, rehabilitation assisted by a robotic exoskeleton (two sessions per year for five years) combined with leuprorelin enabled a 68-year-old man with Kennedy disease to regain symmetrical walking, improve his independence and walking endurance, and maintain these results under treatment.
The effectiveness of this dual therapy has yet to be compared with that of HAL® alone.
