Bradykinesia in Huntington's disease. A prospective, follow-up study.
Bradykinesia is a frequent finding in Huntington's disease (HD), but some aspects are presently unknown; including the natural evolution of bradykinesia over time and the correlation between bradykinesia and functional capacity. We studied the motor performance of 20 genetically confirmed patients with HD (age: 40+/-10.8 years; age at onset 33.6+/-11 years; total functional capacity (TFC): 9.57+/-3; UHDRS total motor scale: 31.4+/-13, triplet length (CAG)n: 46.7+/-4 triplets). These patients were studied in baseline conditions and after 18.7+/-6 months of follow-up. In addition, HD patients were compared with 20 age-matched normal controls. Motor study included the four CAPIT timed tests commonly used for Parkinson's disease: pronation-supination (PS), finger dexterity (FD), movement between two points (MTP) and walking test (WT). HD patients were significantly slower than controls in all motor tasks. A significant deterioration occurred over time in three of the four motor tasks (especially FD and WT). A significant correlation between timed tests and TFC score was found (for MTP, r: -0.845; p < 0,0001). In addition a significant correlation between timed tests and the UHDRDS total motor scale was also found (for MTP, r: 0.864; p < 0.0001). In conclusion, simple timed motor tests can detect a deterioration of motor activity over time in HD. Timed tests might be useful to follow the natural evolution of HD and to assess the efficacy of new therapies.
García Ruiz
Pedro J
PJ
Department of Neurology, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Avda. Reyes Católicos 2, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid 28040, Spain. pgarcia@fjd.es
Hernández
Jaime
J
Cantarero
Susana
S
Bartolomé
Manuel
M
Sánchez Bernardos
Vicenta
V
García de Yébenez
Justo
J
D000328:Adult; D018450:Disease Progression; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018476:Hypokinesia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric