Gait Analysis in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Phenotypes

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to describe gait parameters of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) phenotypes at early stage verifying the ability of gait analysis in discriminating between disease phenotypes and between the other variant syndromes of PSP (vPSP) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Nineteen PSP (10 PSP-Richardson's syndrome, five PSP-parkinsonism, and four PSP-progressive gait freezing) and nine PD patients performed gait analysis in single and dual tasks. Although phenotypes showed similar demographic and clinical variables, Richardson's syndrome presented worse cognitive functions. Gait analysis demonstrated worse parameters in Richardson's syndrome compared with the vPSP. The overall diagnostic accuracy of the statistical model during dual task was almost 90%. The correlation analysis showed a significant relationship between gait parameters and visuo-spatial, praxic, and attention abilities in PSP-Richardson's syndrome only. vPSP presented worse gait parameters than PD. Richardson's syndrome presents greater gait dynamic instability since the earliest stages than other phenotypes. Computerized gait analysis can differentiate between PSP phenotypes and between vPSP and PD.

Contactless Gait Assessment in Home-like Environments

“…Another way to assess gait parameters is via motion analysis on the basis of motion capturing systems [ 17 ]. While they allow for high accuracy and high levels of detail concerning positions of body parts [ 18 ], they require the placement of visual trackers on the measured person’s body, as well as a large setup system, including multiple cameras [ 19 ]. Thus, both walkways and motion capturing systems are only suitable for measurements in clinical settings or other controlled environments.…”

Clinical Spectrum of Tauopathies

“…Postural instability leading to frequent falls is a common feature among various Parkinsonian disorders. However, it is most severe and occurs the earliest in the course of RS, in the first 3 years and more specifically in the first year of disease onset ( 45 ), compared to other Parkinsonian syndromes and other PSP variants ( 57 ). On stance, patients with RS assume a wide base and tend to drift backwards ( 44 , 58 ) and postural reflexes are impaired on the pull test.…”

Agreement between Optoelectronic System and Wearable Sensors for the Evaluation of Gait Spatiotemporal Parameters in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy

“…Then, the acquired data were transferred to the elaborator using a dedicated proprietary software, able to store and compute spatiotemporal parameters, as reported in other studies [ 13 , 37 , 38 ].…”

“…In neurodegenerative diseases, gait analysis has been used for monitoring disease progression over time, quantifying parkinsonian symptoms [ 7 ], evaluating treatments’ outcomes, implementing algorithms for diagnosis through the recognition of soft signs [ 8 ], and predicting the risk of falls [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. As for PSP, recent evidence suggests that quantitative evaluation of gait may provide further insights in both the diagnostic process and in the evaluation of disease progression [ 1 , 13 , 14 ].…”