Postural stability in early Parkinson’s disease: effect of cognitive dual-tasking

Abstract

Purpose: The primary aim of this study is to evaluate postural stability by using a static posturography in patients with early Parkinson’s disease (PD). Secondly, this paper addresses the need for illustrating the effect of dual-tasking on postural stability in early PD patients. Materials and Methods: Twenty-nine early PD patients with maximum 5 years of disease duration were included in this study. The selected group had no clinical PI while their age- and sex-matched healthy controls were carried out. Neurological examination and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) were performed in all subjects. Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and modified Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) scores were recorded in PD patients. Postural stability was assessed in all subjects on a static posturography platform under three different conditions: eyes open, eyes closed and a cognitive task of producing words with given letters. Results: The mean age of the PD was 59.2±10.5 whereas the control groups mean age was 56.3±7.6 (p>0.05). The female-male ratio was 9/20 in the PD and 12/17 in the control group. There was no important difference between the two groups in terms of demographic characteristics. In the PD group, the mean UPDRS was 12.8±4.9. The patients were mostly receiving polytherapy. Eye closure and cognitive task caused an increase in most sway parameters in both groups. Conclusion: Early PD patients on medication, postural stability is preserved and cognitive dual-tasking does not affect postural stability in these patients in the early stage.