Functional gait assessment in early and advanced Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Abstract Background Postural instability and balance problems in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) can seriously affect the quality of life and lead to falls with a subsequent increase in the morbidity and mortality. Early identification of gait dysfunction in early stages of PD establishes an effective therapy, prevention of the falls and reducing health care costs. This work aimed to detect gait disorders in patients with PD using the functional gait assessment (FGA) scale and to correlate it with the disease severity in Egyptian PD patients. This is a case–control study in which 40 patients with PD were recruited from the Involuntary Movement Clinic at Alexandria University El-Hadara Hspoital; 20 patients had early stages of PD (Hoehn Yahr stages 1 and 2) and 20 patients had advanced PD (Hoehn Yahr stages 3 and 4). Another 20 subjects were recruited as controls. All recruited subjects underwent gait assessment using FGA scale. Results Gait analysis using FGA showed significant differences (P < 0.001) between the recruited PD patients and the control group. Upon comparing the early and advanced PD patients’ groups, certain items in the FGA (gait with pivot turn, step over obstacle, gait with eyes closed and backward gait) together with time consumed for 6-m walk with eyes open and close showed significant statistical differences between early and advanced PD patients. The patients’ duration of illness with PD was reversely correlated with the total FGA score. Conclusion The FGA scale was strongly influenced by the duration of PD among the Egyptian patients and can potentially detect early stages of PD.