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[Locomotion disturbances in Huntington's disease]

A Delval1, P Krystkowiak

  • 1EA2683, IFR 114, service de neurologie et de neurophysiologie clinique, hôpital Salengro, CHRU de Lille, 59037 Lille cedex, France. a-delval@chru-lille.fr

Revue Neurologique
|July 17, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Huntington's disease (HD) causes early gait timing and stride length issues, increasing fall risks. Current therapies like metronomes are ineffective, possibly due to attention deficits in HD patients.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Movement Disorders

Context:

  • Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder.
  • Locomotion disturbances, including gait impairments, are early clinical features of HD.

Purpose:

  • To define the nature of gait disorders in Huntington's disease.
  • To explore the challenges in developing therapeutic strategies for gait impairments in HD.

Summary:

  • Gait disorders in HD are characterized as a timing issue, with hypokinesia (reduced stride length) becoming significant as the disease progresses.
  • These gait impairments elevate the risk of falls, with factors and consequences varying by disease stage.
  • Current interventions, such as metronome-assisted gait training, have shown limited efficacy, potentially due to attention deficits in HD patients.

Impact:

  • Understanding HD-related gait disturbances is crucial for fall prevention and management.
  • The ineffectiveness of current gait therapies highlights the need for novel therapeutic approaches.
  • Further research is needed to evaluate the impact of antichoreic medications on specific gait parameters in HD.

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