The Correlation Between Reach and Grasp Kinematic Measures and Clinical Measures of Manual Dexterity in Patients With Parkinson Disease

Abstract

Background and Objectives: To investigate the correlation between reach and grasp kinematic measures and clinical measures of gross and fine manual dexterity in patients with idiopathic Parkinson Disease (PD). Methods: Sixty patients (44 men, 16 women) with idiopathic PD (Mean±SD of age: 59.85±11.89 years) were recruited in this non-experimental cross-sectional study using a non-probability sampling method. Their gross and fine manual dexterity were assessed using the Box and Block Test (BBT) and Nine Hole Peg Test (NHPT), respectively. Also, reach and grasp kinematic measures (including normalized movement time, peak velocity, Maximum Grip Aperture [MGA], and percentage of movement time in which MGA occurred [PMGA]) were measured in the more affected hand. Results: The results showed a significant and moderate correlation between reach kinematic measures (i.e. normalized movement time and peak velocity) and both gross and fine manual dexterity assessed by BBT (P=0.000) and NHPT (P=0.000), respectively. However, there was not a significant correlation between grasp kinematic measures (i.e. MGA and PMGA) and gross manual dexterity measured by BBT (P>0.05) as well as fine manual dexterity assessed by NHPT (P>0.05). Conclusion: This study showed no to moderate correlation between reach and grasp kinematic measures and clinical measures of gross and fine manual dexterity in patients with PD, supporting the significance of multi-level evaluation using both clinical and kinematic measures in the evaluation of upper limb function in patients with PD.