Reduction of freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease by repetitive robot-assisted treadmill training: a pilot study.
BACKGROUND
Parkinson's disease is a chronic, neurodegenerative disease characterized by gait abnormalities. Freezing of gait (FOG), an episodic inability to generate effective stepping, is reported as one of the most disabling and distressing parkinsonian symptoms. While there are no specific therapies to treat FOG, some external physical cues may alleviate these types of motor disruptions. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential effect of continuous physical cueing using robot-assisted sensorimotor gait training on reducing FOG episodes and improving gait.


METHODS
Four individuals with Parkinson's disease and FOG symptoms received ten 30-minute sessions of robot-assisted gait training (Lokomat) to facilitate repetitive, rhythmic, and alternating bilateral lower extremity movements. Outcomes included the FOG-Questionnaire, a clinician-rated video FOG score, spatiotemporal measures of gait, and the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 quality of life measure.


RESULTS
All participants showed a reduction in FOG both by self-report and clinician-rated scoring upon completion of training. Improvements were also observed in gait velocity, stride length, rhythmicity, and coordination.


CONCLUSIONS
This pilot study suggests that robot-assisted gait training may be a feasible and effective method of reducing FOG and improving gait. Videotaped scoring of FOG has the potential advantage of providing additional data to complement FOG self-report.
Lo
Albert C
AC
VA RR&D Center of Excellence-Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine, Providence VA Medical Center, 830 Chalkstone Ave, Providence, RI 02908, USA. Albert_Lo@Brown.edu
Chang
Victoria C
VC
Gianfrancesco
Milena A
MA
Friedman
Joseph H
JH
Patterson
Tara S
TS
Benedicto
Douglas F
DF
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006615:Hip / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007717:Knee / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012371:Robotics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome