Objective: To analyse changes in quantitative gait parameters in patients with very early, unilateral, PD over 12 months follow-up.

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is frequently characterized by progressive gait impairment leading to motor disability.  Analysing quantitative gait parameters obtained during gait recording by different types of sensors could give more precise information about disease progression and provide future therapeutic procedures as well.

Method: Consecutive PD outpatients in the initial, unilateral stage of the disease were recruited at the Clinic of Neurology, Medical Faculty, University of Belgrade. Patients underwent clinical and neuropsychological assessment during ON time at the study entry and at follow up at 1 year after baseline. Gait was assessed using dual-task methodology walking on GAITRite instrumented walkway. Patients performed basic walking task, dual motor task, dualmental task and combined mental and motor task. Spatio-temporal gait parameters were evaluated.

Results: We included 42 PD patients (61.9 % male) whose average age was 59.9 years (± 9.75), with disease duration 1.3 years (± 1.13). At follow up, they showed increased disease severity, more severe depression symptoms and higher levodopa equivalent daily dose, without significant cognitive worsening. In both initially affected bodyside and clinically asymptomatic bodyside at study entry, similar changes in gait parametars were observed across all four required tasks, namely shorter swing time and prolonged double support time, as well as increase of their respective coefficients of variance. There were no changes of step lenght, step time, velocity, nor heel to heel base width.

Conclusion: Gait changed markedly over 12 months follow up of unilateral PD following similar pattern in initially affected and clinically asymptomatic body side.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/longitudinal-changes-of-gait-parameters-in-early-parkinsons-disease/