The relationship between motor planning and freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease

Introduction: Freezing of gait (FOG) is one of the most debilitating motor symptoms experienced by patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), as it can lead to falls and reduced quality of life. Evidence supports an association between FOG severity and cognitive functioning; however, results are varied. Methods: PD patients with (PDFOG+, n=41) and without FOG (PDFOG-, n=39) and control healthy subjects (n=41) participated in the study. The NIH toolbox cognition battery, Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), and interval timing task were used to test cognitive domains. Measurements were compared between groups using multivariable models and adjusting for covariates. Correlation analyses, linear regression, and mediation models were applied to examine relationships among disease duration and severity, FOG severity, and cognitive functioning. Results: Significant differences were observed between controls and PD patients for all cognitive domains. PDFOG+ and PDFOG- exhibited differences in the dimensional change card sort (DCCS) test, interval timing task, and MoCA scores. After adjusting for covariates in two different models, PDFOG+ and PDFOG- differed in both MoCA and DCCS scores. In addition, significant relationships between FOG severity and cognitive function (MoCA, DCCS, and interval timing) were also found. Regression models suggest that FOG severity may be a predictor of cognitive impairment, and mediation models show the effects of cognitive impairment on the relationship between disease severity and FOG severity. Conclusions: Overall, this study provides insight into the relationship between cognitive and gait impairments in patients with PD, which could aid in the development of therapeutic interventions to manage both.

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Falls risk is predictive of dysphagia in Parkinson’s disease

Neurological Sciences ◽

10.1007/s10072-021-05700-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Christopher Kobylecki ◽

Irena Shiderova ◽

Mihaela Boca ◽

Emilia Michou

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Correlation Analysis ◽

Freezing Of Gait ◽

Gait Disturbance ◽

Common Symptom ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Axial Symptoms ◽

Gait Score ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Objective Evaluate the relationship between falls, freezing of gait, and swallowing disturbance in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Background Dysphagia is a common symptom in PD, and is often thought of as an axial feature along with falls and gait disturbance. It is of interest to examine the relationship between these symptoms in PD, given the possibility of shared pathophysiology due to non-dopaminergic and extranigral dysfunction. Methods We recruited 29 consecutive non-demented patients with idiopathic PD and at least one clinically determined impairment in swallowing, falls, or freezing of gait. Swallow dysfunction was assessed using the Swallowing Disturbance Questionnaire (SDQ). The Falls Efficacy Scale and Freezing-of-gait questionnaire were recorded. Correlation analysis and multiple regression were used to determine the relationship between swallow and gait disturbance. Results Total SDQ score correlated strongly with the falls efficacy scale (Spearman’s rho = 0.594; P = 0.001), but not with the freezing-of-gait score. Linear regression controlling for other factors associated with dysphagia identified falls efficacy score as a significant predictor of swallow dysfunction. Conclusions The severity of dysphagia in PD is closely related to severity of falls, but not gait freezing. This may be helpful to more precisely determine the anatomical substrate of levodopa-resistant axial symptoms in PD and provide clues to further management.

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The Relationship of Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder and Freezing of Gait in Parkinson’s Disease

Cureus ◽

10.7759/cureus.12385 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Chelsea Mae N Nobleza ◽

Mariah Siddiqui ◽

Parth V Shah ◽

Prachi Balani ◽

Angel R Lopez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Eye Movement ◽

Freezing Of Gait ◽

Behavior Disorder ◽

Rapid Eye Movement ◽

Rapid Eye Movement Sleep ◽

Sleep Behavior ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship

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Relationships between Freezing of Gait Severity and Cognitive Deficits in Parkinson’s Disease

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11111496 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 1496

Author(s):

Jamie L. Scholl ◽

Arturo I. Espinoza ◽

Wijdan Rai ◽

Matt Leedom ◽

Lee A. Baugh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Functioning ◽

Freezing Of Gait ◽

Interval Timing ◽

Cognitive Domains ◽

Timing Task ◽

The Relationship ◽

Mediation Models

Freezing of gait (FOG) is one of the most debilitating motor symptoms experienced by patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), as it can lead to falls and a reduced quality of life. Evidence supports an association between FOG severity and cognitive functioning; however, results remain debatable. PD patients with (PDFOG+, n = 41) and without FOG (PDFOG–, n = 39) and control healthy subjects (n = 41) participated in this study. The NIH toolbox cognition battery, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and the interval timing task were used to test cognitive domains. Measurements were compared between groups using multivariable models and adjusting for covariates. Correlation analyses, linear regression, and mediation models were applied to examine relationships among disease duration and severity, FOG severity, and cognitive functioning. Significant differences were observed between controls and PD patients for all cognitive domains. PDFOG+ and PDFOG– exhibited differences in Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) test, interval timing task, and MoCA scores. After adjusting for covariates in two different models, PDFOG+ and PDFOG– differed in both MoCA and DCCS scores. In addition, significant relationships between FOG severity and cognitive function (MoCA, DCCS, and interval timing) were also found. Regression models suggest that FOG severity may be a predictor of cognitive impairment, and mediation models show the effects of cognitive impairment on the relationship between disease severity and FOG severity. Overall, this study provides insight into the relationship between cognitive and FOG severity in patients with PD, which could aid in the development of therapeutic interventions to manage both.

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