Gait analysis in elderly adult patients with mild cognitive impairment and patients with mild Alzheimer's disease: simple versus dual task: a preliminary report.
SUMMARY BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess gait characteristics during simple and dual task in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and compare them with those of healthy elderly subjects and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.


METHODS
We proposed a gait analysis to appreciate walking (simple task and dual task) in 14 MCI, 14 controls and six AD subjects who walked at their preferred speed. A 20-second period of stabilized walking was used to calculated stride frequency, stride length, symmetry and regularity. Speed walking was measured by electrical photocells.


RESULTS
Variables measured during simple and dual tasks showed an alteration of motor function as well in mild AD patients as in MCI patients.


CONCLUSIONS
At the end of this preliminary study, we defined a specific gait pattern for each cognitive profile. Further researches appear necessary to enlarge the study cohort.
Maquet
D
D
Department of Motricity Sciences, University and CHU of Liege, Liege, Belgium. d.maquet@ulg.ac.be
Lekeu
F
F
Warzee
E
E
Gillain
S
S
Wojtasik
V
V
Salmon
E
E
Petermans
J
J
Croisier
J L
JL
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016138:Walking