Article

OBJECTIVE: To assess vestibular deficits in response to disequilibrium in
ambulatory individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ambALS). DESIGN: All
participants completed standard protocols for the Sensory Organization Test (SOT)
by computerized dynamic posturography. SETTING: Multidisciplinary amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis clinic at an academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS: Study
participants (N=34) consisted of ambALS (n=19) and healthy controls (HC) (n=15).
INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Equilibrium scores (ESs)
obtained from averaged sway amplitude in condition 5 (ES5) and condition 6 (ES6)
of the SOT. RESULTS: In conditions of altered somatosensory information with
vision absent or vision sway-referenced, the mean +/- SD scores for ambALS
(ES5=51.4+/-22.5; ES6=50.8+/-22.1) were lower than those for HC (ES5=65.4+/-11.7,
P.05). Seven ambALS (37%) experienced a total of 19
falls during the sway-referenced support test conditions. There were no falls in
the HC. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly 37% of ambALS with normal clinical balance testing
have decreased ability to use the vestibular input and required increased
reliance on visual input for postural orientation to sustain equilibrium. The
mechanism of this alteration in sensory preference is not completely clear.
Extrapyramidal involvement early in ALS may be indicated.
CI - Copyright (c) 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS