[The usefulness of timed motor tests in assessing Parkinson's disease]

At present, the evaluation of Parkinson's disease (PD) relies on clinical scales, mainly Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS); however, other objective methods have been considered including timed tests.

We studied the motor performance of 53 patients with PD (34 male, 19 female; age 61.9 +/- 8.9 years; age at onset 51.9 +/- 11 years, clinical stage: 2.6 +/- 0.73). Motor evaluation comprised UPDRS and CAPIT timed tests including pronation-supination, finger dexterity, movement between two points or tapping, and walking test. Clinical evaluation was performed in baseline conditions (twelve hours off their medication) and in their best on state, after a standard dose of 200 mg of levodopa.

All CAPIT timed tests, especially tapping, maintained an excellent correlation with UPDRS in both off and on state. Tapping seems to be the best CAPIT timed test for objective motor evaluation of PD.