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Related Experiment Videos

Disequilibrium in older people: a prospective study

K A Kerber1, J A Enrietto, K M Jacobson

  • 1Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Neurology
|August 26, 1998
PubMed
Summary

Older adults with unexplained disequilibrium experience more falls and show greater brain atrophy and white matter lesions (WML) on MRI scans. These findings suggest small-vessel ischemic disease may cause some cases of balance deterioration in aging individuals.

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Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Neurology
  • Neuroimaging

Background:

  • Balance problems are common in older adults but often lack a clear cause.
  • The etiology of age-related disequilibrium remains unclear, possibly involving normal aging or unidentified neuropathology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the clinical and neuroimaging characteristics of disequilibrium in older individuals.
  • To investigate the association between balance issues, falls, and brain changes in the elderly.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal study involving 29 older adults with disequilibrium and 29 controls over five years.
  • Evaluations included neurological exams, balance tests (Tinetti score), fall history, and brain MRI to assess white matter lesions (WML), frontal atrophy (FA), and ventricular-brain ratio (VBR).

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Main Results:

  • Patients with disequilibrium reported more falls and concerns about falling compared to controls.
  • Over five years, patients fell four times more often than controls, with falls strongly correlating with balance measures.
  • Significantly higher VBR, WML, and FA were observed in patients compared to controls (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

  • Unexplained disequilibrium in older adults is linked to increased falls, balance deficits, and neuroimaging evidence of brain atrophy and WML.
  • Small-vessel ischemic disease is a likely contributor to disequilibrium in some elderly patients.