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Older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment exhibit exacerbated gait slowing under dual-task challenges.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:With age, performance of motor tasks becomes more reliant on cognitive resources to compensate for the structural and functional declines in the motor control regions in the brain. We hypothesized that participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) are more prone to motor dysfunctions than cognitively normal older adults under dual-task conditions where competitive demands challenge cognitive functions while performing a motor task simultaneously. METHODS:Sixteen aMCI participants (females=9, age=64±5yrs, clinical dementia rating score=0.5) and 10 age- and education-matched cognitively normal adults (females=5, age=62±6yrs) participated. Using a 10-meter-walk test (10MW), gait velocity was recorded at baseline and under 4 different dual-task (DT) conditions designed to challenge working memory, executive function, and episodic memory. Specifically, DT1: verbal fluency; DT2: 5-digit backward span; DT3: serial-7 subtraction; and DT4: 3-item delayed recall. Physical function was measured by Timed Up-and-Go (TUG), simple reaction time (RT) to a free-falling yardstick, and functional reach (FR). RESULTS:No difference was found in physical functions, aerobic fitness, and exercise cardiopulmonary responses between aMCI participants and controls. However, aMCI participants showed more pronounced gait slowing from baseline when compared to the controls (p<0.05; p=0.001; p<0.001; p<0.001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS:Our finding supports the theory of shared resource of motor and cognitive control. Participants with aMCI manifested more gait slowing than cognitively-normal older adults under DT conditions, with the largest differences during tests of working and episodic memory. The outcome of dual-task assessment shows promise as a potential marker for detection of aMCI and early Alzheimer disease.

SUBMITTER: Tseng BY

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4082490 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment exhibit exacerbated gait slowing under dual-task challenges.

Tseng Benjamin Y BY Cullum C Munro CM Zhang Rong R

Current Alzheimer research 20140101 5

<h4>Background</h4>With age, performance of motor tasks becomes more reliant on cognitive resources to compensate for the structural and functional declines in the motor control regions in the brain. We hypothesized that participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) are more prone to motor dysfunctions than cognitively normal older adults under dual-task conditions where competitive demands challenge cognitive functions while performing a motor task simultaneously.<h4>Methods</h4>S ...[more]

PMID: 24801217

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Project description:ImportanceGait performance is affected by neurodegeneration in aging and has the potential to be used as a clinical marker for progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia. A dual-task gait test evaluating the cognitive-motor interface may predict dementia progression in older adults with MCI.ObjectiveTo determine whether a dual-task gait test is associated with incident dementia in MCI.Design, setting, and participantsThe Gait and Brain Study is an ongoing prospective cohort study of community-dwelling older adults that enrolled 112 older adults with MCI. Participants were followed up for 6 years, with biannual visits including neurologic, cognitive, and gait assessments. Data were collected from July 2007 to March 2016.Main outcomes and measuresIncident all-cause dementia was the main outcome measure, and single- and dual-task gait velocity and dual-task gait costs were the independent variables. A neuropsychological test battery was used to assess cognition. Gait velocity was recorded under single-task and 3 separate dual-task conditions using an electronic walkway. Dual-task gait cost was defined as the percentage change between single- and dual-task gait velocities: ([single-task gait velocity - dual-task gait velocity]/ single-task gait velocity) × 100. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the association between risk of progression to dementia and the independent variables, adjusted for age, sex, education, comorbidities, and cognition.ResultsAmong 112 study participants with MCI, mean (SD) age was 76.6 (6.9) years, 55 were women (49.1%), and 27 progressed to dementia (24.1%), with an incidence rate of 121 per 1000 person-years. Slow single-task gait velocity (<0.8 m/second) was not associated with progression to dementia (hazard ratio [HR], 3.41; 95% CI, 0.99-11.71; P = .05)while high dual-task gait cost while counting backward (HR, 3.79; 95% CI, 1.57-9.15; P = .003) and naming animals (HR, 2.41; 95% CI, 1.04-5.59; P = .04) were associated with dementia progression (incidence rate, 155 per 1000 person-years). The models remained robust after adjusting by baseline cognition except for dual-task gait cost when dichotomized.Conclusions and relevanceDual-task gait is associated with progression to dementia in patients with MCI. Dual-task gait testing is easy to administer and may be used by clinicians to decide further biomarker testing, preventive strategies, and follow-up planning in patients with MCI.Trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov: NCT03020381.

Project description:A contemporary topic in aging research relates to the significance of cognitive changes proper to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to higher risk of falls and gait deteriorations. The present study addresses this question in the amnestic type of MCI (aMCI) by examining a triad of interrelated comorbidities occurring in the MCI condition: attentional impairments, hearing loss and gait disturbances. To this end, we applied a dichotic listening (DL) test during over-ground walking. DL assesses spontaneous and lateralized auditory attention in three conditions (i.e., free report or Non-forced (NF), Forced-Right (FR) ear and Forced-Left (FL) ear). Earlier reports suggest that this dual-task paradigm evoke asymmetric gait effects on healthy controls, which are moderated by degree of hearing loss. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of DL on bilateral (data from both limbs) and lateralized (each limb separately) gait outcomes in a group of forty-three aMCI participants (mean = 71.19) and fifty-two healthy older controls (mean = 70.90) by using hearing loss as a covariate in all analyses. Results showed the aMCI group presented overall compromised gait parameters, especially higher gait variability in all DL conditions during lateralized attentional control. These findings were observed bilaterally, and no lateralized effects on gait were observed. Only after controlling for hearing acuity, gait asymmetries on step length variability emerged almost exclusively in healthy controls. It was concluded that hearing loss in the aMCI group together with higher attentional impairments preclude aMCI individuals to properly execute DL and therefore, they do not display gait asymmetries. The present data demonstrate that varied demands on attentional control dependent on hearing acuity affects gait negatively in healthy older adults and aMCI individuals in very different ways. The appearance of asymmetric effects seems to be a perturbation related to normal aging, while the lack of asymmetries but exaggerated gait variability characterizes aMCI. The present findings show the intricate interplay of sensory, cognitive, and motor deteriorations in different group of older adults, which stresses the need of addressing co-occurring comorbidities behind gait perturbations in individuals prone to develop a dementia state.

Project description:Introduction:Cognitive and gait deficits are common symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD). Motor-cognitive dual tasks (DTs) are used to explore the interplay between gait and cognition. However, it is unclear if DT gait performance is indicative for cognitive impairment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate if cognitive deficits are reflected by DT costs of spatiotemporal gait parameters. Methods:Cognitive function, single task (ST) and DT gait performance were investigated in 67 PD patients. Cognition was assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) followed by a standardized, sensor-based gait test and the identical gait test while subtracting serial 3's. Cognitive impairment was defined by a MoCA score <26. DT costs in gait parameters [(DT?-?ST)/ST?×?100] were calculated as a measure of DT effect on gait. Correlation analysis was used to evaluate the association between MoCA performance and gait parameters. In a linear regression model, DT gait costs and clinical confounders (age, gender, disease duration, motor impairment, medication, and depression) were correlated to cognitive performance. In a subgroup analysis, we compared matched groups of cognitively impaired and unimpaired PD patients regarding differences in ST, DT, and DT gait costs. Results:Correlation analysis revealed weak correlations between MoCA score and DT costs of gait parameters (r/rSp???0.3). DT costs of stride length, swing time variability, and maximum toe clearance (|r/rSp|?>?0.2) were included in a regression analysis. The parameters only explain 8% of the cognitive variance. In combination with clinical confounders, regression analysis showed that these gait parameters explained 30% of MoCA performance. Group comparison revealed strong DT effects within both groups (large effect sizes), but significant between-group effects in DT gait costs were not observed. Conclusion:These findings suggest that DT gait performance is not indicative for cognitive impairment in PD. DT effects on gait parameters were substantial in cognitively impaired and unimpaired patients, thereby potentially overlaying the effect of cognitive impairment on DT gait costs. Limits of the MoCA in detecting motor-function specific cognitive performance or variable individual response to the DT as influencing factors cannot be excluded. Therefore, DT gait parameters as marker for cognitive performance should be carefully interpreted in the clinical context.

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Older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment exhibit exacerbated gait slowing under dual-task challenges.

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Older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment exhibit exacerbated gait slowing under dual-task challenges.

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