Category: Parkinson’s Disease: Clinical Trials
Objective: It is well known that mental simulation of movement in the brain can facilitate motor rehabilitation. Our hypothesis is: can a direct, sequential stimulation on the acupuncture points where the muscles and nerves that are involved in walking motion (i.e. walking stimulation acupuncture) also enhance the patient’s gait stability? The objective of this study is to report a clinical case and to suggest the gait improvement effect of walking stimulation acupuncture on a 59-year-old elderly woman diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Background: The patient’s age of onset of Parkinson’s disease was 53. Her main symptoms were facial spasticity, left upper limb tremor, dizziness, low back pain, and gait disturbance.
Method: The patient received continuous walking stimulation acupuncture accompanied by traditional Korean medical treatment for 11 months. The patient’s cortical activity during gait and resting period was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and her gait parameters were measured with an instrumented walkway system (GaitRite).
Results: After 11 months of treatment, the patient’s subjective symptoms have been alleviated (not described in detail in the abstract). Improvements were also observed in fNIRS and GaitRite. Based on fNIRS data, the patient’s cortical activity during gate increased in motor and sensory cortices of the brain after 1 month of treatment. The increased phenomenon of cortical activation has been maintained throughout 11 months although the tendency slightly decreased as time moved on. It might be due to the patient’s adaptation to acupuncture stimulation and treadmill walking task. Meanwhile, the patient’s GaitRite parameters has been improved continuously throughout 11 months. The patient’s time taken to walk 10 meters has been decreased from 10.40 to 8.09. Also, her TUG (timed up and go) has been decreased from 11.50 to 8.24.
Conclusion: Walking stimulation acupuncture accompanied by Korean medical treatment may be an effective treatment for patients with gait disturbance. Further study is needed to investigate more detailed mechanism of walking stimulation acupuncture.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
M. Park, SS. Park, S.H Lee, C.Y Kim, I.W Choi, I.C Chae, H.R Yoo. A Patient with Gait Disturbance Caused by Parkinson’s Disease: A Case Report [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2020; 35 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/a-patient-with-gait-disturbance-caused-by-parkinsons-disease-a-case-report/. Accessed July 1, 2025.« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2020
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/a-patient-with-gait-disturbance-caused-by-parkinsons-disease-a-case-report/