Association between freezing of gait and anticipatory postural adjustments in Parkinson's disease

[Purpose] One-leg standing motion was measured in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) to evaluate the association between freezing of gait (FOG) and anticipatory postural adjustments (APA). [Participants and Methods] The participants included10 healthy older individuals, seven patients with PD without FOG (PD-FOG group), and seven patients with PD and FOG (PD+FOG group). An accelerometer that was built into a smartphone was attached to the lower back of each participant, and acceleration in the mediolateral direction was measured during one-leg standing. For the mediolateral component of acceleration, the time to the maximum value in the stance direction (peak latency, PL) and the amount of displacement of the maximum value (peak magnitude, PM) were analyzed as APA features. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare PL and PM among the three groups. In addition, the APA ratio (APAr), which is the ratio of PL to PM, was compared between study cohorts. [Results] Delayed PL and decreased PM were observed in the PD+FOG group, compared with the older and PD-FOG groups. In addition, APAr levels were significantly lower in the PD+FOG group. [Conclusion] Patients with PD with FOG had greater APA impairment than those with PD without FOG.