Background: Upper limb motor impairments, such as slowness of movement and difficulties executing sequential tasks, are common in people with Parkinson's disease (PD).
Objective: To evaluate the validity of the upper limb Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA) as a standard clinical assessment battery in people with PD, by determining whether the tests, which encompass muscle strength, dexterity, arm stability, position sense, skin sensation and bimanual coordination can (a) distinguish people with PD from healthy controls, (b) detect differences in upper limb test domains between "off" and "on" anti-Parkinson medication states and (c) correlate with a validated measure of upper limb function.
Methods: Thirty-four participants with PD and 68 healthy controls completed the upper limb PPA tests within a single session.