title: Spatio-temporal gait characteristics in children with Tourette syndrome: a preliminary study.
abstract: Earlier studies had suggested that variability of stride length in gait is a pathological sign of basal ganglia disease. Some evidence implicates the involvement of the basal ganglia and related thalamocortical circuitry in Tourette syndrome (TS). To date, the gait of subjects with TS has only discussed in case reports. This investigation compared the spatial and temporal gait characteristics of a sample of children with TS (N=8) with those of healthy controls (HC; N=8). All children were instructed to walk under two speed conditions: "preferred" and "fastest." Gait parameters were measured using an electronic walkway. Spatial and temporal gait parameters were compared using a two-way (group)×(conditions) repeated measures ANOVA. The preliminary results suggested that similar to HC children, children with TS were capable of regulating temporal characteristics of gait based on walking speed. They also exhibited subtle gait anomalies such as irregular step length, as evidenced by significant differences in step length differential (p=0.003), detectable despite the small sample size. These findings warrant further investigation into the gait control of children with TS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen-Hwa 1st Rd., Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 33302, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Wen-Yu
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen-Hwa 1st Rd., Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 33302, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital - Taoyuan Branch, 123, Din-Ghu Rd., Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 33378, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Pei-Hsuan
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen-Hwa 1st Rd., Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 33302, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Hen-Yu
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lien
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen-Hwa 1st Rd., Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 33302, Taiwan, ROC; Division of Pediatric Neurology, Chang Gung Children's Hospital, 5 Fu-Hsing Street, Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 33305, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: wanghs444@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Huei-Shyong
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen-Hwa 1st Rd., Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 33302, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital - Taoyuan Branch, 123, Din-Ghu Rd., Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 33378, Taiwan, ROC; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen-Hwa 1st Rd., Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 33302, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Alice May-Kuen
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital - Taoyuan Branch, 123, Din-Ghu Rd., Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 33378, Taiwan, ROC; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen-Hwa 1st Rd., Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 33302, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Simon Fuk-Tan
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Child; Gait; Tourette syndrome