Case Report of Multiple Cerebral Infarction in Middle Cerebral Artery with Gait Disturbance Treated by Korean Medicine

Objectives This study reported about a patient with a right middle cerebral artery infarction whose gait disturbance was improved by Korean medicine treatment. Methods The patient was treated with a Korean herbal medicine (Gami-yukmijihwang-tang) along with acupuncture, electroacupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, and physical therapy. The treatment effect was evaluated with the manual muscle test (MMT) and the Korean version of the modified Barthel index (K-MBI). The gait of the patient was evaluated by a 10-m walk test (10MWT), the timed up and go (TUG) test, the functional ambulation profile (FAP) score, and the functional ambulatory category (FAC) score. Spatiotemporal parameters were evaluated using a walkway system (GAITRite®, CIR Systems, Inc., USA). Results After 83 days of traditional Korean medicine treatment, the K-MBI and FAC scores improved from 50 to 70 and from 1 to 4, respectively. The 10MWT and TUG tests also improved from 24.86 to 16.66 sec and from 22.35 to 17.62 sec, respectively. GAITRite® measurements reflected gait improvements: the FAP score improved from 55 to 86 sec; the step time improved from 0.72 to 0.669 sec; the step length improved from 31.076 cm to 41.284 cm; the gait velocity improved from 42.8 cm/sec to 64.1 cm/sec; the cadence improved from 93.6 steps/min to 90.8 steps/min. No adverse effects resulting from treatment or evaluation occurred during the admission period. Conclusions This study suggests that traditional Korean medicine treatment may reduce symptoms and improve the quality of life in patients with cerebral infarction. Keywords: cerebral infarction, gait disturbance, traditional Korean medicine, GAITRite®, case report