Predictors of gait impairment in Parkinson's disease

Abstract

PD is the most common movement disorder besides essential tremor and the second most common neurodegenerative disease (Tanner et al., 2000). Egypt has higher prevalence of PD about 35 in 100000 as was studied previously (Khedr et al., 2015). Gait difficulties are one of the first problems reported in people with PD, indicating the onset of disability (Shulman et al., 2008). Parkinsonian gait is often slow and characterized by short shuffling steps. Such problems are often accompanied by falling, which occurs in 40–70% of people with PD (Pickering et al., 2007). Understanding gait difficulties and developing criteria to identify people with PD who are at risk for falling are crucial to interrupt this devastating cycle of falls and injuries (Bloem et al., 2004). Moreover, fall risk factors among patients with PD include disease severity, motor function, and level of mobility (Kerr et al., 2010). Studies also identified CI as an independent contributing factor (Allcock et al., 2009). In spite of utilizing the MRI brain findings in PD patients to predict gait difficulties, they are not well studied (Nadya et al., 2014).