title: Assessment of balance in mild and moderate stages of Alzheimer's disease: implications on falls and functional capacity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the correlation between balance, falls and loss of functional capacity in mild and moderate Alzheimer's disease(AD).
  
  
  METHODS
  40 subjects without cognitive impairment (control group) and 48 AD patients (25 mild, 23 moderate) were evaluated with the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD). Subjects answered a questionnaire about falls occurrence in the last twelve months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Moderate AD patients showed poorer balance (p=0.001) and functional capacity (p <0.0001) and it was observed a correlation between falls and balance (r= -0.613; p=0.045).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a decline of balance related to AD which is a factor associated to the occurrence of falls, albeit not the most relevant one. The loss of functional capacity is associated with the disease's progress but not to a higher occurrence of falls. The balance impairment did not correlate with functional decline in AD patients.
authors.affiliation: Center of Reference in Cognitive Disorders Behavioural and Cognitive Neurology Group, Hospital das Clínicas, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. elimkato@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Eliane Mayumi
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Kato-Narita
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nitrini
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Radanovic
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index