scholarly journals Neural Control of Walking in People with Parkinsonism

Physiology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. S. Peterson ◽  
F. B. Horak

People with Parkinson's disease exhibit debilitating gait impairments, including gait slowness, increased step variability, and poor postural control. A widespread supraspinal locomotor network including the cortex, cerebellum, basal ganglia, and brain stem contributes to the control of human locomotion, and altered activity of these structures underlies gait dysfunction due to Parkinson's disease.

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 672-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon D. Israeli-Korn ◽  
Avi Barliya ◽  
Caroline Paquette ◽  
Erika Franzén ◽  
Rivka Inzelberg ◽  
...  

The law of intersegmental coordination (Borghese et al. 1996) may be altered in pathological conditions. Here we investigated the contribution of the basal ganglia (BG) and the cerebellum to lower limb intersegmental coordination by inspecting the plane’s orientation and other parameters pertinent to this law in patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD) or cerebellar ataxia (CA). We also applied a mathematical model that successfully accounts for the intersegmental law of coordination observed in control subjects (Barliya et al. 2009). In the present study, we compared the planarity index (PI), covariation plane (CVP) orientation, and CVP orientation predicted by the model in 11 PD patients, 8 CA patients, and two groups of healthy subjects matched for age, height, weight, and gender to each patient group (Ctrl_PD and Ctrl_CA). Controls were instructed to alter their gait speed to match those of their respective patient group. PD patients were examined after overnight withdrawal of anti-parkinsonian medications (PD-off-med) and then on medication (PD-on-med). PI was above 96% in all gait conditions in all groups suggesting that the law of intersegmental coordination is preserved in both BG and cerebellar pathology. However, the measured and predicted CVP orientations rotated in PD-on-med and PD-off-med compared with Ctrl_PD and in CA vs. Ctrl_CA. These rotations caused by PD and CA were in opposite directions suggesting differences in the roles of the BG and cerebellum in intersegmental coordination during human locomotion. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Kinematic and muscular synergies may have a role in overcoming motor redundancies, which may be reflected in intersegmental covariation. Basal ganglia and cerebellar networks were suggested to be involved in crafting and modulating synergies. We thus compared intersegmental coordination in Parkinson’s disease and cerebellar disease patients and found opposite effects in some aspects. Further research integrating muscle activities as well as biomechanical and neural control modeling are needed to account for these findings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 78-84
Author(s):  
D. S. Yaroshenko ◽  

The review article presents data on the history of research of extrapyramidal system dysfunctions, modern ideas about the etiology and diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, as the most common disease of the group of extrapyramidal disorders. Currently, no concept of effective therapy for patients with extrapyramidal system dysfunction has been developed, but it has been proven that the probability of developing the disease largely depends on the genetic predisposition and the level of environmental pollution. In the early stages, the disease is slow and asymptomatic, but gradually more than half of patients with Parkinson's disease die, and others need outside care. According to experts, in the near future, Parkinson's disease will become a problem for a significant part of people, because today it affects more and more people of working age. Under such conditions, reliable and early diagnosis of the disease is of great importance, which guarantees timely and most effective treatment. Modern therapies fail to stop the progressive death of the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra, but traditional treatment can achieve symptomatic relief. Currently, it is known that the probability of developing Parkinson's disease depends on the genetic predisposition and the level of man-made environmental stress. The researchers consider that the pathological development of Parkinson's disease in the brain begins in the lower structures of the brain stem with the involvement of the caudal-Rostral nuclei, as well as the involvement of the cortico-basal ganglia-cerebellar pathways. The pathological process affects the ascending pathways and gradually passes to the midbrain, directly to the black substance, spreads from there and weakens the mesocortex and neocortex. Injuries in the brain stem lead to disorganization of the cortico-basal ganglia and cerebellar pathways, followed by the formation of alternative pathways to compensate for the initial disorders in the early stages of the disease. In addition, in Parkinson's disease, intracellular Lewy bodies and neurites formed by the protein alpha-synuclein are created, which are found in the autopsy material of most patients. Poor results of diagnostic evaluation and treatment of Parkinson's disease are usually associated with a lack of understanding of the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. The study of the biological basis and pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease is an important task of a whole complex of scientific studies of extrapyramidal system dysfunction. Conclusion. The article discusses the creation of toxic models of Parkinson's disease in vivo and in vitro, which help to recreate the pathogenesis of the disease for early diagnosis and the development of new ways to treat neurodegenerative diseases. In toxic models of Parkinsonism, not only deficits of motor functions such as bradykinesia, tremor, and posture disorders are actively studied, but also non-motor symptoms such as sleep disorders, neuropsychiatric and cognitive abnormalities


1989 ◽  
Vol 28 (03) ◽  
pp. 92-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Neumann ◽  
H. Baas ◽  
R. Hefner ◽  
G. Hör

The symptoms of Parkinson’s disease often begin on one side of the body and continue to do so as the disease progresses. First SPECT results in 4 patients with hemiparkinsonism using 99mTc-HMPAO as perfusion marker are reported. Three patients exhibited reduced tracer uptake in the contralateral basal ganglia One patient who was under therapy for 1 year, showed a different perfusion pattern with reduced uptake in both basal ganglia. These results might indicate reduced perfusion secondary to reduced striatal neuronal activity.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 560
Author(s):  
Fabiola Spolaor ◽  
Marco Romanato ◽  
Guiotto Annamaria ◽  
Antonella Peppe ◽  
Leila Bakdounes ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Equistasi®, a wearable device, on the relationship between muscular activity and postural control changes in a sample of 25 Parkinson’s disease (PD) subjects. Gait analysis was carried out through a six-cameras stereophotogrammetric system synchronized with two force plates, an eight-channel surface electromyographic system, recording the activity of four muscles bilaterally: Rectus femoris, tibialis anterior (TA), biceps femoris, and gastrocnemius lateralis (GL). The peak of the envelope (PoE) and its occurrence within the gait cycle (position of the peak of the envelope, PPoE) were calculated. Frequency-domain posturographic parameters were extracted while standing still on a force plate in eyes open and closed conditions for 60 s. After the treatment with Equistasi®, the mid-low (0.5–0.75) Hz and mid-high (0.75–1 Hz) components associated with the vestibular and somatosensory systems, PoE and PPoE, displayed a shift toward the values registered on the controls. Furthermore, a correlation was found between changes in proprioception (power spectrum frequencies during the Romberg Test) and the activity of GL, BF (PoE), and TA (PPoE). Results of this study could provide a quantitative estimation of the effects of a neurorehabilitation device on the peripheral and central nervous system in PD.


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