While gait analysis has been shown to be a reliable, tool to characterize movement impairment in Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, the complex data has often made it impractical in a clinical setting. A research team set out to test the usefulness of a single gait profile score to quantify and monitor kinematic gait alterations in patients with CMT. From the testing data, the researchers concluded that the single gait profile score can differentiate people with CMT disease from unaffected people, can quantify ambulation impairment, and identify the joints most affected by the disease.
The CMT neuropathy score, a 36-point scale based on symptoms, signs, and neurophysiological measures, has been the most effective way to assess movement impairment, but the score has a low sensitivity to functional disability, and it is not ideal for the evaluation of patient rehabilitation, according to Charcot-Marie-Tooth News.
The new gait profile score was calculated through a gait variable score that includes nine values related to the movement of the pelvis, hips, knees, ankles, and feet. Each movement gives a gait variable score that the researchers compared with the gait pattern of non-affected individuals. Using the gait variable scores from each participant, the research team calculated the gait profile score, the measure of how much a patient’s gait differed from a normal gait.
To test their method, researchers conducted a gait analysis on a group of 20 patients with CMT and a mean age of 48.9 years, and with a control group.
Neurological impairment was evaluated using the CMT neuropathy score in the original form and in the Rasch Analysis revised form. Differences in kinematics scores were assessed using the Mann-Whitney U test. The relationship between gait parameters and the CMT neuropathy score was assessed with the Spearman correlation.
The results of the Mann-Whitney U test revealed a significant effect of the pathology on the gait profile score. The CMT neuropathy score was positively correlated with gait profile score.
The study was published October 18 in Disability and Rehabilitation.
