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[Speed of ocular saccades in Huntington disease. Prospective study]
P J García Ruiz1, C Cenjor, E Ulmer
1Servicios de Neurología y Otorrinolaringología, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid. pgarcia@fjd.es
Background:
Oculomotor abnormalities, especially slow saccades, have long been recognized in Huntington's disease (HD).
Objectives And Methods:
To study prospectively horizontal saccade velocity by videonystagmography in 21 patients with genetically confirmed HD. The study included a baseline analysis and a second evaluation after 18.8 +/- 7.1 months. We included a control group of 15 subjects.
Results:
HD group exhibited decreased saccade velocity when compared with that from a control group (for predictive and unpredictive target). HD patients showed decreased saccade velocity with the passage of time (for predictive target, p < 0.01). Finally we found statistical significant correlation between saccade velocity and triplet length.
Conclusions:
The measurement of saccade velocity might be an objective method to study the natural evolution of HD, and thus evaluate the effectiveness of future therapies.