Objective: To objectively quantify selected parameters of bradykinesia investigated by finger tapping in cervical dystonia patients using the Leap Motion Controller (LMC) sensor.

Background: Bradykinesia, defined as slowness of movement, is typically seen in parkinsonian disorders but can also occur in non-parkinsonian disorders, e.g. tremor disorders and dystonic syndromes. The most common type of dystonia is its cervical form. However, the phenomenology of idiopathic cervical dystonia (CD) is more complex than purely dystonic signs with an unclear prevalence of bradykinetic features.

Method: Twenty-four subjects were examined, 12 with an idiopathic CD with a mean disease duration of 11 ± 11.1 and a mean age of 59.8 ± 8.73. The second group of age-matched healthy subjects consisted of 12 participants with a mean age of 60 ± 7.06. The protocol consisted of repetitive finger tapping based on MDS-UPDRS (item 3.14) recorded with the LMC sensor. All participants performed finger tapping alternatively with their right and left hands three times for a duration of 10 seconds. The amplitude, frequency, and their decrements, speed, acceleration was assessed. All paricipants were administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment to exclude participants with severe cognitive deficit.

Results: Our results showed statistically significant differences in frequency (p=0.006), frequency decrement (p=0.04), acceleration (p=0.04) and velocity (p=0.03) of finger tapping compared to healthy controls. These parameters did not correlate with the severity of CD based on the Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale.

Conclusion: Based on objective assessment with the optical sensors, patients with cervical dystonia may have signs of bradykinesia.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/bradykinesia-in-patients-with-cervical-dystonia-objective-assessment-with-optical-sensor/