Differences In Gait Patterns Between Patients With Swedd And Normal Subjects

Whether gait assessment can distinguish patients with scans without evidence of dopaminergic deficit (SWEDD) from normal individuals remains unclear. In the present study, the gait patterns in SWEDD patients and normal individuals were investigated. 10 patients with SWEDD and 10 healthy normal subjects were recruited. A GaitRite linear walkway was used to quantitatively assess level walking. Eight spatiotemporal variables were selected for comparison between two groups. For statistical analysis, independent sample t-tests were performed to compare between normal individuals and SWEDD patients. Compared with normal individuals, SWEDD patients exhibited a shorter step length (p<0.001). In addition, SWEDD patients showed a wider distribution of heel-to-heel (HH) base of support compared with normal individuals (p<0.000). SWEDD patients had a tendency to deteriorated gait speed (p=0.072) and double-limb support cycle (p=0.088). These results indicate that SWEDD patients adopted a walking strategy that utilized increased step length and width to compensate for deteriorated dynamic balance. These results indicate that quantitative gait assessment could be useful for more accurate diagnosis of SWEDD patients. In addition, understanding clinical features of SWEDD patients might contribute to efficient interventions.