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BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 disease acquired pandemic proportions in 2020. To deal with the scenario, social isolation (SI) was adopted, which configures a lack of contact with people and places. The impediments of this measure, however, can bring risks to older people with Parkinson's disease (PD), such as impairments in gait parameters. AIM: To verify the effects of SI on gait parameters in people with Parkinson's disease. METHOD: Thirty-three people with PD were recruited. Gait assessment was conducted in two periods: February 2020 and March 2022 (before and after the SI, respectively). For that, participants were invited to walk on a 5.74m mat with pressure sensors under two conditions: preferred walking speed and fast walking speed. Three trials were performed for each condition. The gait parameters analyzed were Stride Length, Stride Time, Double Support Time, Stride Velocity, Stride Width, and Cadence. Statistical Analysis was performed by paired t-tests for the comparison of gait parameters between moments (pre and post-SI). RESULTS: In the preferred walking speed condition, the participants reduced their Stride Length (t15 = 3.88, p = 0.001) and Stride Velocity (t15 = 3.63, p = 0.002) in the post-SI period. In the fast-walking speed condition, the participants also reduced their Stride Length (t15 = 3.73, p = 0.002) and Stride Velocity (t15 = 2.86, p = 0.012) in the post-SI period. INTERPRETATION: The SI period reduced the stride length and velocity of people with PD. A possible explanation is the lack of physical activity resulting from this public safety measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Different clinical subtypes (i.e., Postural Instability and Gait Difficulty -PIGD and Tremor Dominant -TD) have been highlighted in Parkinson's disease (PD). Although physical exercise improves motor symptoms in PD, the knowledge about the effect of physical exercise considering the PD subtype is limited. AIM: To compare the effects of long-term locomotion and balance exercise on lower limb functional strength and functional mobility in PD subtypes. METHOD: Eight individuals PIGD and 10 TD participated in this study. All individuals participated in the interventions with exercises focused on improving locomotion and balance. 48 sessions of exercise were performed three times per week for 60 minutes each session. Functional Mobility was analyzed by the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) in a single (ST) and double-task (DT - i.e., subtraction by three). Lower limb functional strength was analyzed by the 30s sit-to-stand test. Both tests were performed at baseline (pre-test) and postintervention (post-test). Statistical analysis was performed by two-way ANOVA, with Group (PIGD vs. TD) and Moment (pre vs. post-test) factors, with repeated measures for the second factor. RESULTS: PIGD decreased the time to perform TUG_ST in the post-test compared to the pre-test (p=0.001). Both groups decreased the time in TUG_DT and increased the number of repetitions in sit-to-stand test in the post-test in relation to the pre-test (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Long-term locomotion and balance exercise programs can improve functional mobility mainly in PIGD. A possible explanation is due to the greater room for improvement of PIGD subtypes and exercise specificity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) exacerbates muscle and bone mass loss, which is associated with several negative outcomes such as falls and disability. Thus, muscle and bone mass loss may be one mechanism for the mediator role between gait impairments and PD. AIM: To verify the relationship between the spatial-temporal gait parameters and the body composition of the lower limbs in people with PD. METHOD: Thirteen people with PD were evaluated on two different days: i) clinical and gait evaluation; ii) body composition evaluation. The step length, width, duration and speed, the percentage in double support, and gait velocity during walking at self-selected velocity. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry technique was used to measure fat mass, lean mass, bone mass, and total mass, for the whole body, and separately for each limb. Pearson's correlation coefficients were applied between the spatial-temporal gait parameters and the variables of body composition of lower limbs. RESULTS: Higher lean and bone mass of both legs were related to faster gait velocity (r=0.6, p<0.03 and r=0.7, p<0.01, respectively) and step speed (r=0.5, p<0.05 and r=0.65, p<0.02, respectively). Also, narrower step width was related to the higher bone mass of both legs (r=0.6, p<0.03). However, muscle and bone mass did not correlate with step length and duration, and percentage of double support. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the muscle and bone mass of the lower limbs are important body characteristics for gait impairments in people with PD and should be monitored over the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Falls are an impactful problem for people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD), impairing the functional capacity and quality of life. Although some predictors of fall risk have been evidenced, the investigation of functional capacity components individual and combined is needed to a more detailed approach to identify fall risk prediction. AIM: To verify the ability of individual and combined functional capacity components in predicting fall risk in PwPD. METHOD: Ninety-six individuals participated in this cohort study. Functional capacity was assessed by Berg Balance Scale, Timed Up and Go, Six-Minute Walk, and Sit-to-Stand tests. The participants who fell at least once during the prospective follow-up of 12 months were considered fallers. A trained evaluator registered the fall’s occurrence weekly. Mann-Whitney U, t-tests, and chi-square tests were used to compare fallers versus non-fallers. Receiver Operating Characteristics curves of functional capacity components (individual and combined) were performed to predict fall risk. RESULTS: Thirty-six (37.5%) PwPD were classified as fallers, being recorded 56 falls, and 60 (62.5%) as nonfallers. There are no differences in functional capacity components between groups. The combined functional capacity components were not able to predict fall risk in PwPD (area under the curve = 0.52; p = 0.77). These components were also unable to predict fall risk when analyzed individually. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that functional capacity components, individual and combined, are not good predictors of fall risk in PwPD. The multifactorial characteristics of falls and the falls classification might affect the fall risk prediction and should be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of Parkinson's Disease (PD) on the perceptive judgment of stair step height using both exteroceptive visual and exproprioceptive judgments. We invited 14 individuals with PD and 14 neurologically healthy older adults (OA) to perform perceptual judgment tasks for first step stairway heights of 11 and 20 cm. Initially, participants performed first the exteroceptive visual judgment and then the exproprioceptive judgment in five randomized trials for each stair height. An analysis of variance for the exteroceptive visual judgment revealed no main effects or interaction between PD versus OA groups and height. However, the analysis of variance for exproprioceptive judgment revealed a significant interaction between group and height (F1,26 = 9.519; p = .005; Pη2 = .268) such that both groups made more errors in exproprioceptive judgment at a height of 11 cm. The OA group made more errors in exproprioceptive judgment for the 20-cm step when compared with the PD group (p = .016) but the PD group underestimated the step height. We conclude that PD influences exproprioceptive perception of step height and that steps with smaller (vs. larger) heights induce greater exproprioceptive error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • People with PD can modulate gait parameters according to changes in arm swing. • Bradykinesia and hypometria of gait are overcome by increased arm swing. • Rehabilitation protocols for gait in people with PD should include arm movements. Abstract People with Parkinson's disease (PD) have decreased arm swing movements during walking, which can be related to PD motor signs and symptoms. In this context, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of an increased arm swing frequency or amplitude on the gait parameters in people with PD and healthy older adults. Seventeen individuals with PD and 19 older people were invited to walk on a 10 m pathway under three experimental conditions: (i) usual walking (no arm swing instructions); (ii) an increased arm swing amplitude; and (iii) an increased arm swing frequency. Both groups had an increased stride speed, vertical center of mass and arm swing accelerations and decreased double support time under the increased arm swing amplitude and frequency conditions. People with PD were able to modulate the gait parameters according to the experimental conditions, but at a smaller magnitude than the older individuals. These results indicate that bradykinesia and hypometria of gait can be positively overcome by increasing the amplitude and frequency of arm swing. Arm movements should be included in gait rehabilitation protocols for PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of disease severity and medication state on postural control asymmetry during challenging tasks in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). Nineteen people with PD and 11 neurologically healthy individuals performed three standing task conditions: bipedal standing, tandem and unipedal adapted standing; the individuals with PD performed the tasks in ON and OFF medication state. The participants with PD were distributed into 2 groups according to disease severity: unilateral group (n=8) and bilateral group (n=11). The two PD groups performed the evaluations both under and without the medication. Two force plates were used to analyze the posture. The symmetric index was calculated for various of center of pressure. ANOVA one-way (groups) and two-way (PD groups×medication), with repeated measures for medication, were calculated. For main effects of group, the bilateral group was more asymmetric than CG. For main effects of medication, only unipedal adapted standing presented effects of PD medication. There was PD groups×medication interaction. Under the effects of medication, the unilateral group presented lower asymmetry of RMS in anterior-posterior direction and area than the bilateral group in unipedal adapted standing. In addition, the unilateral group presented lower asymmetry of mean velocity, RMS in anterior-posterior direction and area in unipedal standing and area in tandem adapted standing after a medication dose. Postural control asymmetry during challenging postural tasks was dependent on disease severity and medication state in people with PD. The bilateral group presented higher postural control asymmetry than the control and unilateral groups in challenging postural tasks. Finally, the medication dose was able to reduce postural control asymmetry in the unilateral group during challenging postural tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]