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Gait in Huntington's disease and the stride length-cadence relationship
Insights
Gait control is disrupted in Huntington's disease (HD), specifically stride length scaling, but cadence regulation remains intact. This research clarifies gait abnormalities in HD patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomechanical Engineering
- Movement Science
Background:
- Huntington's disease (HD) causes progressive gait deterioration, impacting function.
- Gait control mechanisms, particularly stride length and cadence relationships, are altered in neurological disorders.
- Understanding these changes is crucial for managing HD progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the automatic control of gait in Huntington's disease (HD) by analyzing the stride length-cadence relationship.
- To compare gait control mechanisms between individuals with HD, Parkinson's disease (PD), and healthy older adults (HOA).
Main Methods:
- Compared stride length-cadence relationships in 17 HD, 20 PD, and 21 HOA participants.
- Recorded gait at various speeds (preferred, slow, fast).
- Used linear regression to analyze slope and intercept, comparing adjustments in stride length and cadence across speeds and groups.
Main Results:
- Stride length was significantly shorter in HD and PD groups compared to controls.
- Intercept of the stride length-cadence relationship was lower in HD and PD groups.
- Cadence and its adjustment across speeds did not differ between groups, indicating preserved cadence regulation.
Conclusions:
- Stride length scaling is disrupted in individuals with Huntington's disease.
- Cadence regulation during gait is preserved in HD, unlike stride length.
- Findings highlight specific gait control deficits in HD, differentiating it from other movement disorders.
Background:
The progressive deterioration of gait in Huntington's disease (HD) leads to functional decline and loss of function. To understand the underlying mechanisms responsible for the gait changes in HD, we examined the automatic control of gait by measuring the relationship between stride length and cadence. The relationship is strongly linked in healthy adults during automatic gait but disrupted in pathological gait disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD).
Methods:
The stride length cadence relationship was compared between seventeen participants with HD, twenty with PD and twenty one healthy older adults (HOA). Participants had their gait recorded at self-selected preferred, very slow, slow, fast and very fast speeds. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the slope and intercept of the relationship which were compared between groups. The adjustment of stride length and cadence when changing gait speeds was measured and compared within and between groups.
Results:
Linearity was strong in all but two participants with HD and one with PD. Slope did not differ between groups (p > 0.05) but intercept was lower in the HD and PD groups compared to HOA (p < 0.05). Stride length was shorter in the HD and PD groups compared to controls at preferred and most adjusted speed conditions (p < 0.05) but cadence did not differ between groups (p > 0.05) regardless of speed. The HD group adjusted stride length and cadence similar to HOA when changing speed. The range of cadence across speed conditions did not differ between groups.
Conclusion:
Scaling of stride length but not the regulation of cadence was found to be disrupted in participants with HD.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Parkinson Disease ll: Pathophysiology
01:21Huntington Disease l: Introduction