Parkinsonian Balance Deficits Quantified Using a Game Industry Board and a Specific Battery of Four Paradigms

Olivier Darbin; Coral Gubler; Dean Naritoku; Daniel Dees; Anthony Martino; Elizabeth Adams

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00431

Parkinsonian Balance Deficits Quantified Using a Game Industry Board and a Specific Battery of Four Paradigms

Front Hum Neurosci. 2016 Aug 30:10:431. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00431. eCollection 2016.

Authors

Olivier Darbin¹, Coral Gubler², Dean Naritoku³, Daniel Dees³, Anthony Martino⁴, Elizabeth Adams⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, University of South AlabamaMobile, AL, USA; Division of System Neurophysiology, National Institute for Physiological SciencesOkazaki, Japan; Animal Resource Program, University of Alabama at BirminghamBirmingham, AL, USA; Vestibular Research, University of South AlabamaMobile, AL, USA.
² Vestibular Research, University of South AlabamaMobile, AL, USA; Department of Physical Therapy, University of South AlabamaMobile, AL, USA.
³ Department of Neurology, University of South Alabama Mobile, AL, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurosurgery, University of South Alabama Mobile, AL, USA.
⁵ Vestibular Research, University of South AlabamaMobile, AL, USA; Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of South AlabamaMobile, AL, USA.

Abstract

This study describes a cost-effective screening protocol for parkinsonism based on combined objective and subjective monitoring of balance function. Objective evaluation of balance function was performed using a game industry balance board and an automated analyses of the dynamic of the center of pressure in time, frequency, and non-linear domains collected during short series of stand up tests with different modalities and severity of sensorial deprivation. The subjective measurement of balance function was performed using the Dizziness Handicap Inventory questionnaire. Principal component analyses on both objective and subjective measurements of balance function allowed to obtained a specificity and selectivity for parkinsonian patients (vs. healthy subjects) of 0.67 and 0.71 respectively. The findings are discussed regarding the relevance of cost-effective balance-based screening system as strategy to meet the needs of broader and earlier screening for parkinsonism in communities with limited access to healthcare.

Keywords: center of pressure; dispertion; fall; irregularity; movement disorders; oscillations; self-reported symptoms.