Assessment of postural instability in Parkinson’s disease patients

Abstract

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a degenerative, progressive, neurological condition that influences the control of a person’s body movements. Computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) is a clinical tool intended to evaluate the integration of visual, vestibular, and somatosensory inputs to maintain postural gait. Posturography can be used to measure postural instability in PD patients. So, the aim of this study was to evaluate the postural control and elaborate on the pathophysiology of the balance impairment in PD patients in the “on” state. Results: All antero-posterior (AP) and medio-lateral (ML) sensory balance scores, except vestibular ones, were significantly lower in the study group compared to the control group. AP and ML sway were generally higher in the study group at all frequencies, with AP being mostly greater compared to ML sway in PD subjects. Global sensory scores were shown to deteriorate with increased durations of the disease and treatment. Conclusions: PD patients have higher postural instability in comparison to controls with AP sway being higher compared to ML.