Validation of the Brazilian version of the Clinical Gait and Balance Scale and comparison with the Berg Balance Scale.

OBJECTIVE: To validate the Clinical Gait and Balance Scale (GABS) for a Brazilian population of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and to compare it to the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). METHODS: One hundred and seven PD patients were evaluated by shortened UPDRS motor scale (sUPDRSm), Hoehn and Yahr (HY), Schwab and England scale (SE), Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I), Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOG-Q), BBS and GABS. RESULTS: The internal consistency of the GABS was 0.94, the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability were 0.94 and 0.98 respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.72, with a sensitivity of 0.75 and specificity of 0.6, to discriminate patients with a history of falls in the last twelve months, for a cut-off score of 13 points. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that the Brazilian version of the GABS is a reliable and valid instrument to assess gait and balance in PD.

Validation of the Brazilian version of the Clinical Gait and Balance Scale and comparison with the Berg Balance Scale / Validacao da versao brasileira da escala de marcha e equilibrio e comparacao com a escala de equilibrio de Berg

Objective To validate the Clinical Gait and Balance Scale (GABS) for a Brazilian population of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and to compare it to the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Methods One hundred and seven PD patients were evaluated by shortened UPDRS motor scale (sUPDRSm), Hoehn and Yahr (HY), Schwab and England scale (SE), Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I), Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOG-Q), BBS and GABS. Results The internal consistency of the GABS was 0.94, the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability were 0.94 and 0.98 respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.72, with a sensitivity of 0.75 and specificity of 0.6, to discriminate patients with a history of falls in the last twelve months, for a cut-off score of 13 points. Conclusions Our study shows that the Brazilian version of the GABS is a reliable and valid instrument to assess gait and balance in PD. .

Objetivo Validar a Escala Clínica de Marcha e Equilíbrio (GABS) para a população brasileira com doença de Parkinson (DP) e compará-la com a Escala de Equilíbrio de Berg (BBS). Métodos 107 pacientes com diagnóstico de DP foram avaliados através das escalas versão reduzida da UPDRS motora, Hoehn e Yahr, Schwab e England, Escala de Medo de Quedas Internacional, Escala de Congelamento da Marcha, GABS e BBS. Resultados A consistência interna da escala foi 0,94, a confiabilidade inter-examinador 0,98 e intra-examinador 0,94. Curva ROC (receiver operating characteristic curve) de 0,72, com sensibilidade de 0,75 e especificidade de 0,60 para discriminar pacientes com história de queda nos últimos 12 meses, para uma nota de corte de 13 pontos. Conclusão Nosso estudo demonstra que a versão brasileira da GABS é válida para avaliar a marcha e o equilíbrio em pacientes com DP. .

The effect of the partially restricted sit-to-stand task on biomechanical variables in subjects with and without Parkinson's disease.

The aim of this study was to explore the electromyographic, kinetic and kinematic patterns during a partially restricted sit-to-stand task in subjects with and without Parkinson's disease (PD). If the trunk is partially restricted, different behavior of torques and muscle activities could be found and it can serve as a reference of the deterioration in the motor performance of subjects with PD. Fifteen subjects participated in this study and electromyography (EMG) activity of the tibialis anterior (TA), soleus (SO), vastus medialis oblique (VMO), biceps femoris (BF) and erector spinae (ES) were recorded and biomechanical variables were calculated during four phases of the movement. Subjects with PD showed more flexion at the ankle, knee and hip joints and increased knee and hip joint torques in comparison to healthy subjects in the final position. However, these joint torques can be explained by the differences in kinematic data. Also, the hip, knee and ankle joint torques were not different in the acceleration phase of movement. The use of a partially restricted sit-to-stand task in PD subjects with moderate involvement leads to the generation of joint torques similar to healthy subjects. This may have important implications for rehabilitation training in PD subjects.