Department of Neurology, University Hospital Muenster, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
Eur J Neurol. 2013 Feb;20(2):389-93. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2012.03760.x. Epub 2012 Jun 4.
Physical therapy is recommended for the treatment of Huntington's disease, but reliable studies investigating its efficacy are almost non-existent. This may in part be due to the lack of suitable outcome measures. Therefore, we investigated the applicability of novel quantitative and objective assessments of motor dysfunction in the evaluation of physical therapy interventions aimed at improving gait and posture.
Twelve patients with Huntington disease received a predefined twice-weekly intervention focusing on posture and gait over 6 weeks. The GAITRite mat and a force plate were used for objective and quantitative assessments. The Unified Huntingtons Disease Rating Scale Total Motor Score, the timed Up &Go test, and the Berg Balance Scale were used as clinical outcome measures.
Significant improvements were seen in GAITRite measures after therapy. Improvements were also seen in the Up & Go test and Berg Balance Scale, whereas force plate measures and Total Motor Scores did not change.
The results suggest that physical therapy has a positive effect on gait in Huntington's disease. The study shows that objective and quantitative measures of gait and posture may serve as endpoints in trials assessing the efficacy of physical therapy. They should be explored further in larger trials applying a randomized controlled setting.
物理疗法被推荐用于治疗亨廷顿病，但针对其疗效的可靠研究几乎不存在。这可能部分归因于缺乏合适的疗效评估指标。因此，我们研究了新型定量和客观的运动功能障碍评估方法在评估旨在改善步态和姿势的物理治疗干预中的适用性。
12 名亨廷顿病患者接受了为期 6 周、每周 2 次的针对姿势和步态的预定义干预。使用 GAITRite 垫和力板进行客观和定量评估。使用统一亨廷顿病评定量表总运动评分、计时起立-行走测试和伯格平衡量表作为临床疗效评估指标。
治疗后 GAITRite 测量值显著改善。在 Up & Go 测试和伯格平衡量表中也观察到了改善，而力板测量值和总运动评分没有变化。
研究结果表明，物理疗法对亨廷顿病的步态有积极影响。研究表明，步态和姿势的客观和定量测量可以作为评估物理治疗疗效的试验终点。应在更大规模的应用随机对照设置的试验中进一步探索这些方法。
