Abstract
Background: Balance problems and falls are a major source of morbidity and mortality in patients with Parkinson's disease. Vitamin D supplementation reduces falls and sway in neurologically intact elderly fallers, but effects in Parkinson's disease are not established. Methods: To study this relationship and select outcome measures for a vitamin D intervention study, balance function and vitamin D concentration were quantified in a series of Parkinson's patients in a cross-sectional, observational study. Participants underwent a battery of 5 balance tests. Results: Serum vitamin D concentrations were correlated inversely with Parkinson's severity, as measured by the motor Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. Among the balance measures, vitamin D concentrations were correlated with automatic posture responses to backwards translation, specifically with response strength and stance weight asymmetry. Conclusions: These findings support the hypothesis that vitamin D plays a role in balance among patients with Parkinson's disease and identify specific outcome measures for detecting effects of vitamin D upon balance.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1133-1137 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Movement Disorders |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2013 |
Keywords
- Accidental falls
- Parkinson's disease
- Vitamin D
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology