Clinical features of MCI: motor changes.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a classification reserved for nondemented elderly individuals at increased risk for future decline to dementia, compared to those with normal cognition. Cognitive tests, particularly those assessing verbal recall, have been found to be useful in the identification of elderly people with MCI. We argue that a variety of motor/psychomotor evaluations are also sensitive to MCI. Motor assessments described as complex correctly categorize normal versus MCI elderly with comparable accuracies to those obtained by cognitive tests. Unlike performance on verbally based cognitive measures, motor-test scores appear to be relatively independent of educational attainment, indicating that the use of certain motor tests may be particularly valuable in the identification of MCI among elderly with widely varying educational backgrounds.

Test-retest reliability of the seated Functional Rotation Test in people with Parkinson's disease: a preliminary study.

This study established the test-retest reliability of a seated Functional Rotation Test monitoring hand-pointing, together with head and trunk-rotation performance, in people with Parkinson's disease. An ancillary purpose was to establish the concurrent validity between the Functional Rotation Test and an electrogoniometer. 10 males with Parkinson's disease (M age=70.5 yr.; Hoehn and Yahr staging severity ranging from II to IV) were recruited. Subjects were fitted with laser-pointing devices, sat in the Functional Rotation room, and were instructed to turn actively and point to their right (or left) as far as they could comfortably manage. Tagged projections were scored (in degrees). Testing was repeated after a brief interval. Electrogoniometer projected locations were compared with Functional Rotation Test scores. Intraclass correlation coefficients (.91 to .97) indicated excellent test-retest reliability. There was also excellent agreement between electrogoniometric and Functional Rotation Test values (Intraclass correlation coefficients=.99). Thus the Functional Rotation Test provides a replicable measure of axial rotation of head, trunk, and hand-pointing in seated subjects with Parkinson's disease.

Test-retest reliability in performance of persons with hemiparesis tracking by means of compatibly displayed myoelectric feedback derived from upper limb muscles.

The aim of this study was to assess whether persons with hemiparesis will yield statistically reliable test-retest tracking performance on a procedure using limb-generated, compatibly displayed, myoelectric video feedback. A convenience sample of 50 inpatients and outpatients with upper extremity involvement of at least six months were recruited. 30 had hemiparesis and had both upper extremities tested. 20 had hemiplegia and had the nonparetic upper extremity tested. Tracking skill was measured as mean tracking error. Repeated measures analysis of variance yielded statistically significant effects of main factors: Response mode, Cursor Feedback, and Session. Extremity tested was not significant. Performance with involved limb, uninvolved limb, isometric mode, and isotonic mode all yielded positive rest-retest correlations. The reliable range of tracking error obtained from subjects with hemiparesis performing a task requiring modulation of compatibly displayed myoelectric output supports the therapeutic rationale for employing compatibly displayed video feedback in the rehabilitation of motor control.

Test-retest reliability of the functional rotation test in healthy adults.

Test-retest reliability and concurrent validity for a Functional Rotation Test, developed as a clinical tool for quantifying the extent of body rotation while sitting or standing, were evaluated with healthy adults in this study. Participants, ages 20 to 72 years (n = 36) donned laser-pointing devices, stood or sat in the center of a room calibrated for the test, and actively turned and pointed to the right (or left) as far as they could comfortably. The locations of the lasers were recorded and subsequently scored. Testing was repeated after a brief rest. Concurrent measurements between a clinical goniometer and the Functional Rotation Test were also compared. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) indicated good to excellent test-retest reliability indices, ranging from .89 to .96 for standing and .87 to .95 for sitting tests. Agreement between the Functional Rotation Test and the goniometer was excellent (ICC = 1.0). The relevance and possible applications of the Functional Rotation Test are discussed.