Which Gait Tasks Produce Reliable Outcome Measures of Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Disease?

Background: Measurement of freezing of gait (FOG) relies on the sensitivity and reliability of tasks to provoke FOG. It is currently unclear which tasks provide the best outcomes and how medication state plays into this.

Objective: To establish the sensitivity and test-retest reliability of various FOG-provoking tasks for presence and severity of FOG, with (ON) and without (OFF) dopaminergic medication.

On-Demand Cueing for Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Cueing can alleviate freezing of gait (FOG) in people with Parkinson's disease (PD), but using the same cues continuously in daily life may compromise effectiveness. Therefore, we developed the DeFOG-system to deliver personalized auditory cues on detection of a FOG episode.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the effects of DeFOG during a FOG-provoking protocol: (1) after 4 weeks of DeFOG-use in daily life against an active control group; (2) after immediate DeFOG-use (within-group) in different medication states.

The Potential of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation to Alleviate Dual-Task Gait Costs in Older Adults: Insights from a Double-Blinded Pilot Study.

Background: The performance of an attention-demanding task while walking, i.e., dual-tasking, leads to dual-task costs (e.

Treadmill training with virtual reality to enhance gait and cognitive function among people with multiple sclerosis: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Motor and cognitive impairments impact the everyday functioning of people with MS (pwMS). The present randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluated the benefits of a combined motor-cognitive virtual reality training program on key motor and cognitive symptoms and related outcomes in pwMS.

Methods: In a single-blinded, two-arm RCT, 124 pwMS were randomized into a treadmill training with virtual reality (TT + VR) group or a treadmill training alone (TT) (active-control) group.

Daily-Living Freezing of Gait as Quantified Using Wearables in People With Parkinson Disease: Comparison With Self-Report and Provocation Tests.

Objective: Freezing of gait (FOG) is an episodic, debilitating phenomenon that is common among people with Parkinson disease. Multiple approaches have been used to quantify FOG, but the relationships among them have not been well studied. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the associations among FOG measured during unsupervised daily-living monitoring, structured in-home FOG-provoking tests, and self-report.

Protocol for the DeFOG trial: A randomized controlled trial on the effects of smartphone-based, on-demand cueing for freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease.

Background: Freezing of gait (FOG) is a highly incapacitating symptom that affects many people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Cueing triggered upon real-time FOG detection (on-demand cueing) shows promise for FOG treatment. Yet, the feasibility of implementation and efficacy in daily life is still unknown.

Targeted tDCS Mitigates Dual-Task Costs to Gait and Balance in Older Adults.

Objective: Among older adults, the ability to stand or walk while performing cognitive tasks (ie, dual-tasking) requires coordinated activation of several brain networks. In this multicenter, double-blinded, randomized, and sham-controlled study, we examined the effects of modulating the excitability of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC) and the primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1) on dual-task performance "costs" to standing and walking.

Methods: Fifty-seven older adults without overt illness or disease completed 4 separate study visits during which they received 20 minutes of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) optimized to facilitate the excitability of the L-DLPFC and SM1 simultaneously, or each region separately, or neither region (sham).

Tele-Rehabilitation with Virtual Reality: A Case Report on the Simultaneous, Remote Training of Two Patients with Parkinson Disease.

Physical training in Parkinson disease improves motor performance, alleviates nonmotor symptoms, and enhances cognition and quality of life. Nonetheless, adherence to exercise is low and travel costs and time may limit participation and compliance. Training at home can help avoid these burdens and, as needed during the recent global pandemic (COVID-19), reinforce social distancing and reduce the risk of infection.

Combining transcranial direct current stimulation with a motor-cognitive task: the impact on dual-task walking costs in older adults.

Background: The performance of a secondary task while walking increases motor-cognitive interference and exacerbates fall risk in older adults. Previous studies have demonstrated that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may improve certain types of dual-task performance, and, that tDCS delivered during the performance of a task may augment the benefits of stimulation, potentially reducing motor-cognitive interference. However, it is not yet known if combining multi-target tDCS with the simultaneous performance of a task related to the tDCS targets reduces or increases dual-task walking costs among older adults.

Virtual reality training to enhance behavior and cognitive function among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: brief report.

: To examine the feasibility and efficacy of a combined motor-cognitive training using virtual reality to enhance behavior, cognitive function and dual-tasking in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). : Fourteen non-medicated school-aged children with ADHD, received 18 training sessions during 6 weeks. Training included walking on a treadmill while negotiating virtual obstacles.

Treadmill walking reduces pre-frontal activation in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Background: Among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), gait is typically disturbed and less automatic. These gait changes are associated with impaired rhythmicity and increased prefrontal activation, presumably in an attempt to compensate for reduced automaticity.

Research Question: We investigated whether during treadmill walking, when the pace is determined and fixed, prefrontal activation in patients with PD is lower, as compared to over-ground walking.