Predictors of Gait Improvement in Patients With Parkinson's Disease After Rehabilitation

Fifty out of 67 patients with idiopathic PD assessed for eligibility were recruited at Rehabilitation Unit of Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, University of Rome, Sapienza, and at Rehabilitation Unit of Policlinico Italia Centre, Rome, Italy. Patients were admitted for outpatient rehabilitation between May 2014 and April 2017. The inclusion criteria were a diagnosis of idiopathic PD according to UK bank criteria and Hoehn and Yahr stages 1 to 3. All patients were in a stable drug program and had adapted to their current medications for at least 2 weeks. Exclusion criteria were: cognitive deficits (defined as scores of \<26 on the Mini-Mental State Examination \[MMSE\]), moderate or severe depression (defined as scores of \>17 on the Beck Depression Inventory \[BDI\]), and orthopedic and other gait-influencing diseases such as arthrosis or total hip joint replacement. All participants could walk independently without walking devices. All patients were taking oral administrations of levodopa (18 patients), dopamine agonists (5 patients), or both (13 patients) and were recorded in on phase. Severity of parkinsonism was evaluated using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS-II and III) and the Hoehn and Yahr staging system. The study complied with the Helsinki Declaration and received local ethics committee approval. Prior to taking part in the study, all the participants gave a written consent after a fully explanation of the experimental procedure.