Progression of Gait Ataxia in Patients with Degenerative Cerebellar Disorders: a 4-Year Follow-Up Study.
Cerebellum
; 16(3): 629-637, 2017 06.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27924492
ABSTRACT
In the present study, the progression of gait impairment in a group of patients with primary degenerative cerebellar ataxias was observed over a period of 4 years. A total of 30 patients underwent an initial gait analysis study, and thereafter only 12 were evaluated because they completed the 2- and 4-year follow-up evaluations. Time-distance parameters, trunk and joint range of motion (RoM), and variability parameters (e.g., coefficients of variation) were measured at the baseline and at each follow-up evaluation. The scale for the assessment and rating of ataxia (SARA) was used to evaluate disease severity. We found a significant increase in the SARA score at both the 2- and 4-year follow-up evaluations. Almost all the gait variables changed significantly only at the 4-year follow-up. Particularly, we found a significant decrease in the step length and in the hip, knee, and ankle joint RoM values and noted a significant increase in the trunk rotation RoM and stride-to-stride and step length variability. Furthermore, a significant difference in ankle joint RoM was found between spinocerebellar ataxia and sporadic adult-onset ataxia patients, with the value being lower in the former group of patients. Our findings suggest that patients with degenerative cerebellar ataxias exhibit gait decline after 4 years from the baseline. Moreover, patients try to maintain an effective gait by adopting different compensatory mechanisms during the course of the disease in spite of disease progression.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Ataxia Cerebelosa
/
Enfermedades Cerebelosas
/
Ataxia de la Marcha
/
Marcha
Tipo de estudio:
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
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Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Cerebellum
Asunto de la revista:
CEREBRO
Año:
2017
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Italia