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Motor-cognitive dual-task deficits in individuals with early-mid stage Huntington disease
Nora E Fritz1, Katy Hamana2, Mark Kelson3
1Wayne State University, Program in Physical Therapy, Detroit, MI, USA.
Insights
Individuals with Huntington disease (HD) show impaired dual-task abilities, impacting motor and cognitive functions. These impairments correlate with disease progression and functional capacity, offering insights into fall risk prediction.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Human Movement Science
- Clinical Neurology
Background:
- Huntington disease (HD) causes progressive motor and cognitive deficits.
- Limited research exists on dual-task abilities in HD patients.
- The relationship between dual-task performance and functional capacity in HD is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess simple and complex motor-cognitive dual-task performance in individuals with HD.
- To investigate the correlation between dual-task walking ability and motor, cognitive, and functional measures in HD.
- To examine the association of dual-task measures with falls in the HD population.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-two individuals diagnosed with Huntington disease participated.
- Dual-task ability was evaluated using the Walking While Talking Test (simple and complex tasks).
- Demographic, disease-specific motor, cognitive, and functional data were collected.
Main Results:
- Individuals with HD demonstrated deficits in both simple and complex dual-task abilities.
- Simple dual-task walking correlated with motor scores and cognitive performance.
- Complex dual-task walking correlated with overall functional capacity and various cognitive measures. Falls were moderately to strongly correlated with dual-task performance.
Conclusions:
- Huntington disease impairs cognitive-motor dual-task ability, linked to disease progression and functional decline.
- Dual-task measures capture a unique aspect of early to mid-stage HD.
- These measures may enhance the prediction of falls risk in individuals with HD.
Background:
Huntington disease (HD) results in a range of cognitive and motor impairments that progress throughout the disease stages; however, little research has evaluated specific dual-task abilities in this population, and the degree to which they may be related to functional ability.
Objectives:
The purpose of this study was to a) examine simple and complex motor-cognitive dual-task performance in individuals with HD, b) determine relationships between dual-task walking ability and disease-specific measures of motor, cognitive and functional ability, and c) examine the relationship of dual-task measures to falls in individuals with HD.
Methods:
Thirty-two individuals with HD were evaluated for simple and complex dual-task ability using the Walking While Talking Test. Demographics and disease-specific measures of motor, cognitive and functional ability were also obtained.
Results:
Individuals with HD had impairments in simple and complex dual-task ability. Simple dual-task walking was correlated to disease-specific motor scores as well as cognitive performance, but complex dual-task walking was correlated with total functional capacity, as well as a range of cognitive measures. Number of prospective falls was moderately-strongly correlated to dual-task measures.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that individuals with HD have impairments in cognitive-motor dual-task ability that are related to disease progression and specifically functional ability. Dual-task measures appear to evaluate a unique construct in individuals with early to mid-stage HD, and may have value in improving the prediction of falls risk in this population.
