Neurology Journal
April 18, 2017 vol. 88 no. 16 1501-1511
Lynn Rochester, PhD, Brook Galna, PhD, Sue Lord, PhD, Alison J. Yarnall, MRCP, Rosie Morris, MSc, Gordon Duncan, MRCP, PhD, Tien K. Khoo, MRCP, PhD, Brit Mollenhauer, MD and David J. Burn, MD
Abstract
Objective
This prospective observational study investigates the role of CSF biomarkers in predicting progression of dopa-resistant gait impairments in Parkinson disease (PD) in the first 36 months from diagnosis.
Methods
Quantitative gait analysis was carried out longitudinally using an instrumented walkway (GAITRite) in 108 people with PD and 130 age-matched controls. A subgroup of 44 people with PD underwent lumbar puncture from which a battery of CSF biomarkers was measured: β-amyloid 1–42 and 1–40 (Aβ42 and Aβ40), total and phosphorylated tau protein (t-tau/p-tau181), and α-synuclein (αSyn). Linear mixed models examined the association between CSF and dopa-resistant gait characteristics (defined as substantial progression despite optimal medication).
