Gait analysis of normal pressure hydrocephalus

2003 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 14571349
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cerebral neurosurgery
• Research Institution: University of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Principal Investigator: YOKOTA Akira University of Environmental and Occupational Health, Japan, Department of Neurosurgery, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (80040583)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): HASHIMOTO Masanori University of Environmental and Occupational Health, Japan, Department of Neurosurgery, Lecturer, 医学部, 講師 (50198694)
• Project Period (FY): 2002 – 2003
• Keywords: normal pressure hydrocephalus / gait disturbance / gait analysis

Research Abstract

Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is a clinical syndrome associated with dementia, gait disturbance and urinary incontinence. Gait disturbance is usually the initial sign and most important symptom, but its objective evaluation has not been established. We analyzed the gait of an idiopathic NPH. Before shunting, the stride was short and irregular, and the truncal movement was unsteady. Three-dimensional pattern of angular relationships between 3 joints, namely the ankle, knee and hip were small and irregular. The vector profile of floor reaction force showed a monophasic pattern with absence of the peak at toe-off. The plantar pressures was investigated by F-SCAN system. The peak pressures under the forefoot decreased. After shunting, the step enlarged and the truncal movement was steady. The three-dimensional patterns of angular relationships between the 3 joints were nearly normalized. The vector profile of floor reaction force showed an appearance of the peak at toe-off, which formed a biphasic pattern, similar to the pattern of a normal person. The gait analysis is a useful method to evaluate gait disturbance in idiopathic NPH.