Panacea Index Logo

Command Palette

Search for a command to run...

Loss of gait control assessed by cognitive-motor dual-tasks: pros and cons in detecting people at risk of developing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

GeroScience
June 1, 2017
Maroua Belghali et al. (5 authors)
Journal ArticleReviewResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to identify dual-task-related gait changes specific to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and assess their potential as prediagnostic markers.

Results Summary

The study found that exacerbation of gait disorders under dual-task conditions could be characteristic of early-stage Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, suggesting these changes may serve as early diagnostic markers.

Population

Individuals with prodromal Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases.

Effective Dosage

Not available

Duration

Not specified

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (3)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
-
increase
gait disorders
patients with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases
-
exacerbation
#1
cognitive-motor dual-task paradigm during walking
increase
executive attention impairment
patients with prodromal Alzheimer's disease
-
allows to assess
#2
cognitive-motor dual-task paradigm during walking
neutral
compensation strategies for gait function preservation
patients with prodromal Parkinson's disease
-
allows to assess
#3
Abstract

Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are age-related progressive neurodegenerative diseases of increasing prevalence worldwide. In the absence of curative therapy, current research is interested in prevention, by identifying subtle signs of early-stage neurodegeneration. Today, the field of behavioral neuroscience has emerged as one of the most promising areas of research on this topic. Recently, it has been shown that the exacerbation of gait disorders under dual-task conditions (i.e., simultaneous performance of cognitive and motor tasks) could be a characteristic feature of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. The cognitive-motor dual-task paradigm during walking allows to assess whether (i) executive attention is abnormally impaired in prodromal Alzheimer's disease or (ii) compensation strategies are used in order to preserve gait function when the basal ganglia system is altered in prodromal Parkinson's disease. This review aims at (i) identifying patterns of dual-task-related gait changes that are specific to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, respectively, (ii) demonstrating that these changes could potentially be used as prediagnostic markers for disease onset, (iii) reviewing pros and cons of existing dual-task studies, and (iv) proposing future directions for clinical research.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Alzheimer DiseaseAttentionBasal GangliaCognitionGaitGait Disorders, NeurologicHumansMemory, Short-TermParkinson DiseasePostural BalancePredictive Value of TestsPsychomotor PerformanceRisk AssessmentTask Performance and AnalysisWalking
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy75/10
Quality85/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations58
Citations/Year7.3
Relative Citation Ratio3.26
NIH Percentile86.6%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.75
Weight Score2.23
Normalized Score0.67
Related Supplements