Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Department of Neurobiology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Mov Disord Clin Pract. 2024 Oct;11(10):1241-1248. doi: 10.1002/mdc3.14177. Epub 2024 Aug 2.
Vibrotactile stimulation has been studied in its efficacy of reducing freezing of gait (FOG) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the results are still controversial. We evaluated the efficacy of a newly developed vibrotactile foot device on freezing severity and gait measures in PD patients with FOG.
To evaluate the efficacy of vibrotactile foot device on PD patients with FOG.
Thirty-three PD patients with FOG were examined during their "off" medication state. The efficacy of the vibrotactile foot device was evaluated using a gait protocol comprising walking trials with vibrotactile stimulation "off" and "on." Walking trials were videotaped for the offline rating by two movement disorder specialists. The Opal inertial sensor unit (128 Hz; Mobility Lab; APDM Inc., Portland, OR, USA) was used for quantitative gait analysis.
The results demonstrated 33.1% reduction in number of FOG episodes (P < 0.001) and 32.6% reduction of freezing episodes (P < 0.001). Quantitative gait analysis showed a significant increase in step length (P = 0.033). A moderate negative correlation was observed between the change of percent time frozen and age (r = -0.415, P = 0.016). 73% of participants reported minimal to substantial improvement in walking with this vibrating stimulation delivered by the vibrotactile foot device.
The vibrotactile foot device is an efficient device that could significantly reduce freezing severity and provide gait regulation to patients with PD experiencing frequent freezing. It could potentially be used in the home environment for improving the quality of life.
振动触觉刺激已被研究用于减少帕金森病（PD）患者的冻结步态（FOG）。然而，结果仍存在争议。我们评估了一种新开发的振动触觉脚器对 PD 患者 FOG 严重程度和步态测量的疗效。
评估振动触觉脚器对 PD 患者 FOG 的疗效。
在“关药”状态下检查了 33 名 PD 伴有 FOG 的患者。使用包含振动触觉刺激“关”和“开”的步态方案评估振动触觉脚器的疗效。行走试验被录像，以供两位运动障碍专家离线评分。Opal 惯性传感器单元（128Hz；Mobility Lab；APDM Inc.，波特兰，OR，美国）用于定量步态分析。
结果显示 FOG 发作次数减少了 33.1%（P<0.001），冻结发作次数减少了 32.6%（P<0.001）。定量步态分析显示步长显著增加（P=0.033）。冻结时间百分比的变化与年龄呈中度负相关（r=-0.415，P=0.016）。73%的参与者报告说，这种由振动触觉脚器提供的振动刺激能使他们的步行得到最小到实质性的改善。
振动触觉脚器是一种有效的装置，能显著降低冻结严重程度，为经常出现冻结的 PD 患者提供步态调节。它可能在家庭环境中用于提高生活质量。
