Article

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and behavioral variant of Frontotemporal Dementia
(bvFTD) are characterized respectively by atrophy in the medial temporal lobe
with memory loss and prefrontal and anterior temporal degeneration with
dysexecutive syndrome. In this study, we hypothesized that specific gait patterns
are induced by either frontal or temporal degeneration. To test this hypothesis,
we studied the gait pattern in bvFTD (23) and AD (22) patients in single and dual
task ("motor" and "cognitive") conditions. To detect subtle alterations, we
performed motion analysis estimating both spatio-temporal parameters and joint
excursions. In the single task condition, the bvFTD group was more unstable and
slower compared to healthy subjects, while only two stability parameters were
compromised in the AD group. During the motor dual task, both velocity and
stability parameters worsened further in the bvFTD group.
In the same
experimental conditions, AD patients showed a significantly lower speed and
stride length than healthy subjects. During the cognitive dual task, a further
impairment of velocity and stability parameters was observed in the bvFTD group.
Interestingly, during the cognitive dual task, the gait performance of the AD
group markedly deteriorated, as documented by the impairment of more indices of
velocity and stability. Finally, the kinematic data of thigh, knee, and ankle
were more helpful in revealing gait impairment than the spatio-temporal
parameters alone. In conclusion, our data showed that the dysexecutive syndrome
induces specific gait alterations. Furthermore, our results suggest that the gait
worsens in the AD patients when the cognitive resources are stressed.
CI - Copyright (c) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS