Freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease: from pathophysiology to emerging therapies.
Freezing of gait (FOG) is 'an episodic inability to generate effective stepping in the absence of any known cause other than parkinsonism or high level gait disorders'. FOG is one of the most disabling symptoms in Parkinson's disease, especially in its more advanced stages. Early recognition is important as FOG is related to higher fall risk and poorer prognosis. Although specific treatments are still elusive, there have been recent advances in the development of new therapeutic approaches. The aim of this review is to present the latest knowledge regarding the phenomenology, pathogenesis, diagnostic assessment and conventional treatment of FOG in Parkinson's disease. A review of the evidence supporting noninvasive brain stimulation will follow to highlight the potential of these strategies.
Department of Neurology, The Marlene & Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson's & Movement Disorders, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.|Department of Medicine, Surgery & Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Clinica Neurologica, Trieste, Italy.
Alberto
A
Cucca
Department of Neurology, The Marlene & Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson's & Movement Disorders, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Milton C
MC
Biagioni
Department of Neurology, The Marlene & Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson's & Movement Disorders, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Jori E
JE
Fleisher
Department of Neurology, The Marlene & Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson's & Movement Disorders, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Shashank
S
Agarwal
Department of Neurology, The Marlene & Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson's & Movement Disorders, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Andre
A
Son
Department of Neurology, The Marlene & Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson's & Movement Disorders, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Pawan
P
Kumar
Department of Neurology, The Marlene & Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson's & Movement Disorders, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Miroslaw
M
Brys
Department of Neurology, The Marlene & Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson's & Movement Disorders, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Alessandro
A
Di Rocco
D005684:Gait; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology
freezing of gait; neurorehabilitation; noninvasive brain stimulation