title: Spatial and temporal gait parameters in Alzheimer's disease and aging.
abstract: Spatial and temporal gait parameters in 40 patients with early Alzheimer's disease (AD) were compared to that of 34 normal controls (NC) on a level ground and on a treadmill. Over-ground velocity, cycle-time, cadence, stride-length, stride-width and double-support time were captured on an electronic walkway. On the treadmill, cadence, cycle-time and double-support time were recorded at a preferred velocity using footswitches. The AD group were significantly slower on the Timed Up and Go task compared to NC (p<0.05). AD patients differed significantly from the NC on their over-ground gait velocity (99+/-19 cm/s vs 119+15 cm/s, p<0.001), cadence (101+/-9 steps/min vs 109+/-9 steps/min, p=0.001) and stride-length (118+/-18 cm vs 131+/-17 cm, p<0.01). On the treadmill, only preferred speed was significantly different in the AD group compared to the NC group (60+/-20 cm/s vs 74+/-23 cm/s, p=0.02). These results indicate that patients with early AD walk slower and with shorter strides than healthy older adults.
authors.affiliation: L. C. Campbell Cognitive Neurology Research Unit, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. neelesh.nadkarni@utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Neelesh K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Nadkarni
authors.forename: Elysha
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mawji
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: McIlroy
authors.forename: Sandra E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Black
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors