title: Acute and Chronic Effect of Acoustic and Visual Cues on Gait Training in Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized, Controlled Study.
abstract: In this randomized controlled study we analyse and compare the acute and chronic effects of visual and acoustic cues on gait performance in Parkinson's Disease (PD). We enrolled 46 patients with idiopathic PD who were assigned to 3 different modalities of gait training: (1) use of acoustic cues, (2) use of visual cues, or (3) overground training without cues. All patients were tested with kinematic analysis of gait at baseline (T0), at the end of the 4-week rehabilitation programme (T1), and 3 months later (T2). Regarding the acute effect, acoustic cues increased stride length and stride duration, while visual cues reduced the number of strides and normalized the stride/stance distribution but also reduced gait speed. As regards the chronic effect of cues, we recorded an improvement in some gait parameters in all 3 groups of patients: all 3 types of training improved gait speed; visual cues also normalized the stance/swing ratio, acoustic cues reduced the number of strides and increased stride length, and overground training improved stride length. The changes were not retained at T2 in any of the experimental groups. Our findings support and characterize the usefulness of cueing strategies in the rehabilitation of gait in PD.
authors.affiliation: C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, 27100 Pavia, Italy ; Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9415-4948
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Icco
authors.affiliation: C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, 27100 Pavia, Italy ; Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1513-2113
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tassorelli
authors.affiliation: C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Eliana
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3589-9354
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Berra
authors.affiliation: C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4846-7967
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bolla
authors.affiliation: C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8236-9650
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pacchetti
authors.affiliation: C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, 27100 Pavia, Italy ; Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6234-6777
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sandrini