Relationship between proprioception at the knee joint and gait ataxia in HSAN III.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type III features marked ataxic gait that progressively worsens over time. We assessed whether proprioceptive disturbances can explain the ataxia.

Methods

Proprioception at the knee joint was assessed using passive joint angle matching in 18 patients and 14 age-matched controls; 5 patients with cerebellar ataxia were also studied. Ataxia was quantified using the Brief Ataxia Rating Score, which ranged from 7 to 26 of 30.

Results

Neuropathy patients performed poorly in judging joint position: mean absolute error was 8.7° ± 1.0°, and the range was very wide (2.8°-18.1°); conversely, absolute error was only 2.7° ± 0.3° (1.6°-5.5°) in the controls and 3.0° ± 0.2° (2.1°-3.4°) in the cerebellar patients. This error was

SUBMITTER: Macefield VG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3694996 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature