Although in recent years the relationship between cognition and gait in Parkinson's disease (PD) has received increasing attention, the specific connections between gait patterns and cognitive features are not fully understood. The objective of this study was to describe the gait patterns in patients affected by PD with or without mild cognitive impairment (MCI+ and MCI-, respectively). We also sought to find an association between gait patterns and specific cognitive profiles. Using a gait analysis system, we compared the gait patterns among MCI+ patients (n = 19), MCI- patients (n - 24), and age- and sex-matched healthy subjects (HS; n = 20) under the following conditions: (1) normal gait, (2) motor dual task, and (3) cognitive dual task. In PD patients, gait parameters were evaluated in both the off and on states. Memory, executive, and visuospatial domains were assessed using an extensive neuropsychological battery. Compared with MCI- PD and HS, MCI+ PD patients displayed reduced step length and swing time and impairment of measures of dynamic stability; these dysfunctions were only partially reversed by levodopa. We also found that dual-task conditions affected several walking parameters in MCI+ PD in the off and on states relative to MCI- PD and HS. Factor analysis revealed 2 independent factors, namely, pace and stability. The latter was strongly and directly correlated to the visuospatial domain. In conclusion, dysfunctions on specific gait parameters, which were poorly responsive to levodopa and highly sensitive to dual-task conditions, were associated with MCI in PD patients. Importantly, visuospatial impairment was strongly associated with the development of instability and more generally with the progression of PD.
The objective of this study was to evaluate hearing impairment in patients affected by Parkinson's disease compared with hearing scores observed in normal age- and sex-matched controls. One hundred eighteen consecutive patients with a clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease were screened. Severity of motor symptoms and staging were measured with the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (section III) and the Hoehn and Yahr scale. Audiometric evaluation consisted of a comprehensive audiologic case history and questionnaire, visual otoscopic examination, acoustic immittance measures (tympanogram and acoustic reflexes), pure tone audiometry, and measurement of brain stem auditory-evoked potentials. Healthy age- and sex-matched subjects were selected as the control group. One hundred six of 118 patients were enrolled. Pure tone audiometry revealed age-dependent high-frequency hearing loss in patients with Parkinson's disease compared with both normative values and values for healthy age- and sex-matched controls (75/106 [71%], χ(2) = 5.959, P = .02; 92/106 [86.8%] vs 60/106 [56.6%], χ(2) = 23.804, P < .001, respectively). Pure tone audiometry scores correlated with Hoehn and Yahr scale scores (P < .05). Brain stem auditory-evoked potentials were normal in all patients. Our patients with Parkinson's disease showed age-dependent peripheral, unilateral, or bilateral hearing impairment. Whether these auditory deficits are intrinsic to Parkinson's disease or secondary to a more complex impaired processing of sensorial inputs occurring over the course of illness remains to be determined. Because α-synuclein is located predominately in the efferent neuronal system within the inner ear, it could affect susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss or presbycusis. It is feasible that the natural aging process combined with neurodegenerative changes intrinsic to Parkinson's disease might interfere with cochlear transduction mechanisms, thus anticipating presbycusis.
The Global Postural Reeducation (GPR) method is a physical therapy based on the stretching of antigravity muscle chains with the parallel enhancement of the basal tone of antagonistic muscles addressed to improve static and dynamic stability. Through a three-dimensional motion analysis (3DMA) system, our study aims to investigate whether in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients a GPR program results in a more physiological gait pattern. The kinematic parameters of gait of twenty subjects with clinically diagnosed PD were calculated. The patients were randomly assigned to a study (10 or control (10) group. All subjects underwent neurological and 3DMA assessments at entry time (t 0), at 4 weeks (t 1, end of GPR program), and at 8 and 12 weeks (t 2 and t 3, follow-up evaluation). The study group underwent a four-week GPR program, three times a week, for 40 min individual sessions. Kinematic gait parameters of thigh (T), knee (K) and ankle (A) and UPDRS-III scores were evaluated. At the end of the GPR program, we observed an improvement of the kinematic gait pattern, documented by the increase in KΔc and TΔc values that respectively express the flexion amplitude of knee and thigh. The amelioration was persistent at follow-up assessments, with a parallel enhancement in clinical parameters. GPR intervention shows a long-term efficacy on gait pattern in PD patients. Furthermore, we validated 3DMA as a valuable tool to study the kinematics of gait thus refining the understanding of the effects of specific rehabilitation programs.
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