title: Galvanic vestibular stimulation may improve anterior bending posture in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: This study investigated the effects of binaural monopolar galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS), which likely stimulates the bilateral vestibular system, on the anterior bending angle in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) with anterior bending posture in a single-blind, randomized sham-controlled crossover trial. The seven PD patients completed two types of stimulation (binaural monopolar GVS and sham stimulation) applied in a random order 1 week apart. We measured each patient's anterior bending angles while he or she stood with eyes open and eyes closed before/after the stimulations. The anterior bending angles in both the eyes-open and the eyes-closed conditions were significantly reduced after the GVS. The amount of change in the eyes-closed condition post-GVS was significantly larger than that by sham stimulation. The amount of change in anterior bending angles in the GVS condition was not significantly correlated with Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor score, disease duration, the duration of the postural deformities, and the anterior bending angles before the GVS. Binaural monopolar GVS might improve anterior bending posture in PD patients, irrespective of the duration and the severity of disease and postural deformities. Binaural monopolar GVS might be a novel treatment strategy to improve anterior bending posture in PD.
authors: aGraduate School of Health Science, Kio University bNeurorehabilitation Research Center of Kio University cDepartment of Rehabilitation, Nishiyamato Rehabilitation Hospital dDepartment of Neurology, Nara Medical University, Nara, Japan.
authors: Yohei
authors: Y
authors: Okada
authors: Yorihiro
authors: Y
authors: Kita
authors: Junji
authors: J
authors: Nakamura
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Kataoka
authors: Takao
authors: T
authors: Kiriyama
authors: Satoshi
authors: S
authors: Ueno
authors: Makoto
authors: M
authors: Hiyamizu
authors: Shu
authors: S
authors: Morioka
authors: Koji
authors: K
authors: Shomoto
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014725:Vestibular Nerve; D014785:Vision, Ocular