Determination of Muscle Strength in Parkinsonian Patients Through the Use of an Isokinetic Dynamometer (CybexPD001)

Decreased muscle strength has been reported to be a factor contributing to increased incidences of falling in the elderly patients causing fractures, joint dislocations, severe soft tissue lesions and head trauma. Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients often complain of weakness and it has been reported that they have reduced muscle strength, decreased rate of force development, impaired ability to maintain constant force, and increased muscle coactivation during balance perturbation tasks. The specific cause of this weakness is not known, and in this study the investigators have analyzed and measured isokinetic muscle strength in PD patients to clarify this issue. The investigators have compared the data obtained with those of age-matched controls.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Parkinson's Disease

Detailed Description

An isokinetic muscle action is defined by its performance at a constant speed or velocity. The laboratory measurements of isokinetic strength provides torque measurements throughout the active range of motion during a maximal effort. Torque is the force rotating about an axis and is produced and recorded from the angular motion. Consequently, the peak torque is an index of the muscular strength. Isokinetic testing was introduced as a quantitative measurement of both statistic and dynamic muscular contraction in which all variables involved (resistance, limb velocity, joint position) are under control. This is because isokinetic muscle testing allows objective, valid, and reliable measurement of the force produced by skeletal muscle during exercise at constant velocity and accommodating resistance and it is appropriate for measuring muscle strength and muscle endurance across the disability spectrum.

Decreased muscle strength has been reported to be a factor contributing to increased incidences of falling in the elderly patients causing fractures, joint dislocations, severe soft tissue lesions and head trauma. Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients often complain of weakness and it has been reported that they have reduced muscle strength, decreased rate of force development, impaired ability to maintain constant force, and increased muscle coactivation during balance perturbation tasks. The specific cause of this weakness is not known, and in this study the investigators have analyzed and measured isokinetic muscle strength in PD patients to clarify this issue. the investigators have compared the data obtained with those of age-matched controls.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 40

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Pavia
    • Montescano, Pavia, Italy, 27100
      • Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 55 years to 79 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients diagnosed with PD in stage 2-3 of Hoen&Yahr according to the United Kingdom Brain Bank criteria.

Healthy Volunteers

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• PD in stage 2-3 of Hoen&Yahr according to the United Kingdom Brain Bank criteria.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Atypical parkinsonisms
• PD patients with relevant orthopedic
• Rheumatic and muscular conditions

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
PD Patients; PD patients with a diagnosis of "clinically probable" idiopathic PD in Hoehn-Yahr stage 2-3, with the ability to walk without any assistance, with mini-mental state examination score ≥26, without any relevant comorbidity or vestibular/visual dysfunctions limiting locomotion or balance.
Controls; age and sex matched healthy volunteers

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Isokinetic strength	Laboratory measurements of isokinetic strength	One month

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Muscle functionality	To establish whether a Intensive Rehabilitation Treatment change the muscle functionality in these patients, and to determine whether isokinetic dynamometry is a reliable method for evaluating muscle strength in patients with PD. Muscle strength was measured in lower limbs with the subjects in a sitting position with hip flexed at 90°. To account for the influence of the gravity effect torque, data were corrected by the weight of the subject's lower limb at 45°. Subjects were tested at three fixed angular velocities: 90°/s, 120°/s, 180°/s. The subjects began each isokinetic contraction with the knee flexed at 90° and continued through the full range of motion. Peaks torque were obtained from the maximum isokinetic tests and subsequently analyzed.	One month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ospedale Generale Di Zona Moriggia-Pelascini
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Giuseppe Frazzitta, MD, Ospedale Generale di Zona "Moriggia-Pelascini", Gravedona ed Uniti (CO), Italy

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): March 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 21, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 1, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): April 2, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): April 2, 2014
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 1, 2014
• Last Verified: March 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Isokinetic muscle strength; Strength in PD patients
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Parkinsonian Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Movement Disorders; Synucleinopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Parkinson Disease
• Other Study ID Numbers: CybexPD001 (Other Identifier: Ospedale Generale di Zona "Moriggia-Pelascini")