Gait festination in Parkinson's disease

• Published in: Parkinsonism & related disorders 2001-04, Vol.7 (2), p.135-138
• Main Authors: Giladi, N, Shabtai, H, Rozenberg, E, Shabtai, E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Festination; Gait; Parkinson's disease
• ISSN: 1353-8020; 1873-5126
• DOI: 10.1016/S1353-8020(00)00030-4

Background: Festinating gait (FSG) was first associated with parkinsonism by Sir James Parkinson, in his original essay on “The Shaking Palsy”. Its frequency and relation to other parkinsonian features have never been assessed. Objective: To study the relationships between gait festination and other parkinsonian clinical features among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Method: During an open lecture to patients with PD who are followed at the Movement Disorders Unit (MDU) of Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center one of us explained verbally and imitated festinating gait on stage. All attending patients with the help of their care-givers or family members, were asked to answer two written questions regarding their own experience with FSG as well as the degree of disability it causes. Clinical information about each patient was taken from his/her chart at the MDU and missing data was completed during the next office visit or from the family physician. Statistical analysis was performed using t-tests for comparison between groups, Chochran–Armitage test for trends and logistic regression to assess the contribution of age of onset, disease duration and disease severity to the development of FSG. Results: Eighty-one PD patients (58 males, mean age 67.5±10.7 years) answered the FSG questionnaire. Our study population's mean disease duration was 8.5±6.4 years, mean Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) clinical stage of 2.6±0.8 and mean levodopa dose of 608±375 mg/day (15 patients were not on levodopa). Twenty-six patients (32.1%) experienced FSG during the previous month and 56% of them reported that FSG was a significant and disabling symptom. FSG was strongly associated with higher stage of H&Y ( p