Quantification of gait in children with mitochondrial disease

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Pediatrics
• Biomechanical Engineering

Background:

• Mitochondrial disorders are complex genetic conditions affecting multiple body systems.
• Gait disturbances are a common manifestation in children with mitochondrial diseases.
• Quantifying gait parameters is crucial for understanding disease progression and treatment efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the optimal protocol for quantifying spatiotemporal gait parameters in ambulatory children with mitochondrial disorders.
• To assess the feasibility and test-retest reliability of different gait analysis protocols.
• To identify gait differences between pediatric patients with mitochondrial disease and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the GAITRite electronic walkway to measure gait in ambulatory children with genetically confirmed primary mitochondrial disease.
• Compared three protocols: pre-exercise, post-exercise (after a 3-minute walking test), and recovery.
• Analyzed spatiotemporal parameters including velocity, cadence, step length, and step width.

Main Results:

• The recovery protocol demonstrated good to perfect test-retest reliability for key gait parameters in 14 patients.
• Significant differences between patients and 70 age- and gender-matched controls were only evident in the post-exercise protocol.
• Most measured gait parameters were feasible and reliable to assess using GAITRite.

Conclusions:

• Gait analysis using GAITRite is a feasible and reliable method for assessing ambulatory children with mitochondrial disorders.
• An exercise test prior to gait analysis is recommended to reveal patient-control differences.
• Practice sessions and avoiding symmetry parameters are advised for future pediatric mitochondrial disease gait studies.