title: Effects of balance and gait rehabilitation in cerebellar disease of vascular or degenerative origin.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether the response to rehabilitation differs between patients with abnormalities of balance and gait due to vascular or to degenerative cerebellar disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed the outcome of 27 cerebellar patients. Fourteen patients with vascular and 13 with degenerative cerebellar disease underwent a 3-week inpatient physical therapy program for 5 days/week, 90 min/day, focused on balance and gait. Body sway area during quiet stance with eyes open and eyes closed, and gait velocity, stride length, cadence and step width were recorded. The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) were administered. All tests were performed before and after treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before treatment, both groups showed comparable values in all sway and gait variables and in BBS. FIM score was higher in degenerative than vascular patients. After treatment, a significant reduction of body sway area was observed under both visual conditions in both groups. Gait velocity, stride length and step width improved more in the vascular than in the degenerative patient group. BBS improved in both groups. FIM improved to a larger extent in the vascular patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Short-term treatment may not be sufficient to produce definite improvement in locomotion in degenerative as much as occurs in vascular patients, even if clinical and functional signs of balance improve in both groups.
authors.affiliation: Posture and Movement Laboratory, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Scientific Institute of Veruno (NO), Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri (IRCCS), Veruno (NO), Italy Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nardone
authors.affiliation: Posture and Movement Laboratory, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Scientific Institute of Veruno (NO), Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri (IRCCS), Veruno (NO), Italy.
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Turcato
authors.affiliation: Centro Studi Attivitá Motorie (CSAM), Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri (IRCCS), Scientific Institute of Pavia, Pavia, Italy Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schieppati
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002526:Cerebellar Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cerebellum; balance; gait; rehabilitation