Muscle strength and executive function as complementary parameters for the assessment of impairment in Parkinson's disease

• Main Authors: Dannyel Barbirato, Alessandro Carvalho, Narahyana Bom de Araujo, Jose Vicente Martins, Andrea Deslandes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia (ABNEURO) 2013-12-01
• Series: Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
• Subjects: doenca de Parkinson; funcao cognitiva; capacidade funcional; funcao executiva; severidade da doenca
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2013001300948&lng=en&tlng=en

Objective To evaluate the relationship between the quantitative results of functional and cognitive performance of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and disease severity; and to study the relationship between patients' functional and cognitive capacity and motor impairment (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale - UPDRS III). Method Twenty-nine subjects clinically diagnosed with PD were classified into three groups according to disease severity using the modified Hoehn and Yahr Scale (H&Y). They were submitted to functional (Senior Fitness Test) and neuropsychological tests. Stepwise regression analysis showed a significant association between H&Y and upper limb strength (r 2 =0.30; p=0.005) and executive function (r 2 =0.37; p=0.004). In relation to UPDRS III, there was a significant association between lower limb strength (r 2 =0.27; p=0.010) and global cognitive status (r 2 =0.24; p=0.024). Conclusion The implementation of simple tests of functional capacity associated with neuropsychological testing can help to assess disease severity and motor impairment, and can be used to monitor the response to treatment in PD.