No abstract

The outcomes of this study provide insights, not identified through the quantitative results, into the experiences of people with PD, which have implications for clinicians running future strength training programmes for people with PD.

This review provides a summary of the current literature examining the outcomes of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech pathology interventions for people with Huntington's disease. The literature was retrieved via a systematic search using a combination of key words that included Huntington's disease, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech pathology. The electronic databases for Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, and PEDro were searched up to May 2002. Articles meeting the review criteria were graded for study type and rated for quality using checklists to assess study validity and methodology. The majority of articles that examined therapy outcomes for people with Huntington's disease were derived from observational studies of low methodological quality. A low level of evidence exists to support the use of physiotherapy for addressing impairments of balance, muscle strength, and flexibility. There was a small amount of evidence to support the use of speech pathology for the management of eating and swallowing disorders. The current evidence is insufficient to make strong recommendations regarding the usefulness of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, or speech pathology for people with Huntington's disease. There is further need for therapy outcomes research in Huntington's disease so that clinicians may use evidence-based practice to assist clinical decision making.

Disturbances of walking have been described in people with Huntington's disease (HD), although the nature of the deficits have not yet been well defined. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether people with HD have a deficit in the regulation of footstep timing during walking. The footstep patterns of 30 people with HD and 30 matched comparisons were measured at self-selected slow, preferred, and fast speeds. Subjects were also instructed to match their footsteps to auditory metronome cues set at 80 and 120 beats per minute. Gait speed, cadence, stride length, and double limb support as a percentage of the gait cycle were measured using a computerized foot-switch system. People with HD demonstrated a disorder in their ability to regulate cadence, manifest as a reduced step frequency when walking at preferred speed and when required to increase their speed. For all walking conditions, people with HD had increased variability of footstep cadence. They also had difficulty synchronizing their footstep timing to an auditory cue. For all walking conditions, people with HD had reduced stride length. Thus, in HD, there is a disorder in the regulation of footstep timing, with increased variability, a restricted cadence range, difficulty synchronizing footsteps to an auditory cue and reduced stride length. The exact neural correlates of this timing disorder are yet to be determined.