Capturing ambulatory activity decline in Parkinson's disease

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Gerontology
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• The natural progression of physical activity limitations in Parkinson's disease (PD) is not well understood.
• Continuous monitoring technology offers a novel approach to assess free-living ambulatory activity in individuals with PD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prospectively investigate long-term changes in daily ambulatory activity in persons with PD.
• To compare the sensitivity of ambulatory activity parameters with clinical gait and disease severity measures.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-three individuals with PD (Hoehn and Yahr 1-3) wore step activity monitors for 7 days at baseline and 1-year follow-up.
• Ambulatory activity parameters (amount, intensity, frequency, duration) were calculated. Clinical measures included UPDRS, 6-Minute Walk, and Gait Speed.
• Paired sample tests analyzed changes in ambulatory activity and clinical measures.

Main Results:

• Significant decreases in the amount and intensity of daily ambulatory activity were observed over one year (P < 0.007).
• No significant changes were noted in the frequency or duration of ambulatory activity.
• The most substantial decline was in daily minutes of moderate-intensity ambulatory activity, despite stable clinical measures.

Conclusions:

• Continuous monitoring of ambulatory activity provides a unique metric for tracking functional decline or improvement in Parkinson's disease.
• This method may offer a more sensitive indicator of disease progression or treatment effects than traditional clinical assessments.