Influencia del deterioro cognitivo en el test freezing of gait-score: un estudio piloto

Abstract

Objectiveto verify if cognitive impairment can affect the total score obtained on the Freezing of Gait score (FOG-score) test in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Material and methodA sectional, correlational non-exploratory study was carried out on thirty-four subjects, with mild to moderate PD disease. The participants carried out the FOG-score test and cognitive evaluation: the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and the Fuld Object Memory Evaluation (FOME). Motor function was assessed by the motor subscale of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) (part III). Resultsthere was a significant negative correlation between the FOG-score test and global cognition (MMSE) (r=.68; p<.001), memory-related parameters (FOME) (r=.64; P<.001) and executive functions (FAB) (r=.57; P<.001). The motor scores held lower relation with FOG parameters (r=.35; P>.005). Conclusionsthe results of this study suggest that cognitive impairment can strongly affect task performance of the FOG-score test. This suggests the need to adjust the cut-off point when assessing PD patients suffering from cognitive dysfunction. This could prevent the examiner from overestimating the existence and recurrence of freezing episodes in this population.