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Gait variability and basal ganglia disorders: stride-to-stride variations of gait cycle timing in Parkinson's disease and Huntington's diseaseThe basal ganglia are thought to play an important role in regulating motor programs involved in gait and in the fluidity and sequencing of movement. We postulated that the ability to maintain a steady gait, with low stride-to-stride variability of gait cycle timing and its subphases, would be diminished with both Parkinson's disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD). To test this hypothesis, we obtained quantitative measures of stride-to-stride variability of gait cycle timing in subjects with PD (n = 15), HD (n = 20), and disease-free controls (n = 16). All measures of gait variability were significantly increased in PD and HD. In subjects with PD and HD, gait variability measures were two and three times that observed in control subjects, respectively. The degree of gait variability correlated with disease severity. In contrast, gait speed was significantly lower in PD, but not in HD, and average gait cycle duration and the time spent in many subphases of the gait cycle were similar in control subjects, HD subjects, and PD subjects. These findings are consistent with a differential control of gait variability, speed, and average gait cycle timing that may have implications for understanding the role of the basal ganglia in locomotor control and for quantitatively assessing gait in clinical settings.
Document ID
20040172677
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Hausdorff, J. M.
(Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States)
Cudkowicz, M. E.
Firtion, R.
Wei, J. Y.
Goldberger, A. L.
Date Acquired
August 22, 2013
Publication Date
May 1, 1998
Publication Information
Publication: Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society
Volume: 13
Issue: 3
ISSN: 0885-3185
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: AG-08812
CONTRACT_GRANT: AG-14100
CONTRACT_GRANT: AG-00294
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Non-NASA Center
NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary

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