OBJECTIVE To investigate whether gait dysfunction is a predictor of severe spatial learning and memory impairment in aged mice. METHODS A total of 100 12-month-old male mice that had no obvious abnormal motor ability and whose Morris water maze performances were not significantly different from those of two-month-old male mice were selected for the study. The selected aged mice were then divi...

The basal ganglia are thought to play an important role in regulating motor programs involved in gait and in the fluidity and sequencing of movement. We postulated that the ability to maintain a steady gait, with low stride-to-stride variability of gait cycle timing and its subphases, would be diminished with both Parkinson's disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD). To test this hypothesis, ...

Background Several studies indicate that the gait pattern of subjects suffering from scoliosis differs from the norm. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding the source of this discrepancy. Objective To evaluate lower limb asymmetries in selected gait variables. Study design A case-control study on lower limb asymmetries during gait which can be related to scoliosis. Methods 31 s...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to determine the change of allocation of attention caused by a difference in gait phase and gait speed. We also determined the relationship between attentional demand and gait automaticity change caused by the gait speed alteration. [Subjects and Methods] Ten male participated. Participants were instructed to perform the probe reaction time (RT) task duri...

The decline in frontal cognitive functions contributes to alterations of gait and increases the risk of falls in patients with dementia, a category which included Alzheimer's disease (AD). The objective of the present study was to compare the gait parameters and the risk of falls among patients at different stages of AD, and to relate these variables with cognitive functions. This is a cross-se...

BACKGROUND previous studies have reported an association between cognitive function and physical performance, particularly among older adults. OBJECTIVE to examine the association between executive function and performance difference on complex versus usual walking tasks in a sample of non-demented older adults. DESIGN population-based epidemiological study of older people residing in the C...

Impaired balance is common post stroke and can be assessed by means of force-platforms measuring center of pressure (COP) displacements during static standing, or more dynamically during lateral maximum weight shift (MWS). However, activities of daily life also include diagonal MWS and since force platforms are nowadays commercially available, investigating lateral and diagonal MWS in a clinica...

OBJECTIVE To explore the amount of practice and progression during task-oriented circuit training (TOCT) in chronic stroke survivors; to test the use of pedometers and observation-based measures in detecting step activity; to verify the possible correlation between step activity and locomotor function improvements. METHODS Six community-dwelling chronic stroke survivors underwent 10 TOCT sess...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Distinguishing between a clinically significant change and change due to measurement error can be difficult. The purpose of this study was to determine test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change for the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), forward and backward functional reach, the Romberg Test and the Sharpened Romberg Test (SRT) with eyes open and closed, the Activities...

BACKGROUND The role of Vitamin D in musculoskeletal functionality among elderly people is still controversial. We investigated the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels and physical performance in older adults. METHODS 2694 community-dwelling elderly women and men from the Progetto Veneto Anziani (Pro.V.A.) were included. Physical performances were assessed by: tandem t...