Objective: To analyse the effect of dual tasking on the Parkinson gait.

Background: Parkinson’s disease has a strong impact on gait and posture, leading to various changes in gait pattern.  Those changes induce an increased risk of falling. A better understanding of that risk and the consequences on the gait pattern it has would help to break the vicious cycle of repetitive falls and fear it involves. The aim of the work is to detect parameters that serve as markers of fall risk that can be use in the everyday clinical practice.

Method: We performed a gait analysis with the Timed up-and-go test (ITUG) on 47 patients with Parkinson’s disease and 35 healthy elderly subjects. The gait parameter were measured with 6 sensors on the upper and lower extremities (Mobility Lab, APDM).  The test examine the time the subjects takes to get up from a chair,  to walk 3 meters and to come back to a seated position.  The test will be repeated three times, the first one in normal conditions, the second using an auditory distraction and the third one a motor distraction in order to simulate daily situations.

Results: The total duration of the test, the cadence, the stride length and the double support decreases equally in healthy subjects and Parkinson patients during dual tasking.  The gait speed, the range of motion of the shank, of the knee and of the trunk as well as the turn duration of patients with Parkinson disease are significantly more impaired under dual tasking in comparison to healthy patients.

Conclusion: Gait patterns under dual tasking in Parkinsonian patient is clearly altered. The type of the task is relevant to the extent of the changes in controls and patients. Motor tasks alter some gait parameters more in patients than in controls. The present study is the beginning of a long-term follow-up study to detect parameters indicating a risk of falling.

Previously Published Abstracts :

-Presented in parts in the congress of the German Society for Clinical Neurophysiology and Functional Neuroimaging (DGKN) in Hamburg (03.2023)

-Preliminary results have been presented in the German congress for Parkinson and movement disorder in Hannover (03.2022)

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/timed-up-and-go-tests-under-dual-task-conditions-influence-of-different-tasks-on-gait-parameters-in-parkinsonian-patients/