Laser Light Cues for Gait Freezing in Parkinson's Disease

Freezing of gait is a significant clinical problem in Parkinson's disease (PD). It interferes with daily functioning and quality of life and often results in falls that potentially can inflict serious injury. In recent years, much more attention has been focused on the clinical characteristics of gait freezing, the severity of falls that can result, and the use of visual cues as a possible treatment in order to understand the implications of episodic freezing. Few clinical studies have been done to confirm the clinical observations to date. The laser cane is a device that has been used and prescribed in movement disorder centers as the only form of treatment for freezing of gait. Although it has been shown to be effective in many cases, there is no published data to support what has been observed in the clinic. The proposed study seeks to clarify unanswered questions regarding the laser cane and its efficacy in aiding with episodic gait freezing and falls.