1. supported study by Dr. Heiko Gaßner and Dr. Cecilia Raccagni
The diagnostic scope of Sensor-Based Gait Analysis in Atypical Parkinsonism
supported study
by Dr. Heiko Gaßner and Dr. Cecilia Raccagni

2. Early diagnosis of MSA – a medical challenge!
Postural instability and gait difficulty (PIGD) are disabling symptoms of Parkinson´s disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonian syndromes (APD), including MSA and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP).
Sensor-based gait analysis revealed more quantitative gait deficits in MSA compared to PD.
However, the diagnostic value of instrumented bedside tests (e.g. sensor-based gait analysis) compared to clinical evaluation in differential diagnosis has not been assessed so far.

3. Study design
We compared gait parameters (gait velocity, stride length, gait variability etc.) of patients with MSA and PSP to those of sporadic PD patients. Cohorts were matched by disease duration, gender and age.
Gait parameters were evaluated in standardized gait tests using an instrumented gait-analysis system.
Figure designed by Jochen Klucken and P-HCT

4. Key findings
The PIGD score identified APD patients correctly in most of the cases analyzed (>90% accuracy).
The objective gait variability parameters reflecting instability of gait (e.g. stance time CV) discriminated APD from PD with similar accuracy.
Gaßner, Raccagni et al. 2019
Frontiers in Neurology

5. Conclusions
Sensor-based gait parameters support the neurologist in differentiating APD from PD.
Importantly, they provide metric, objective added value, and serve as complementary outcomes supporting diagnostics and clinical trials.
Our data need to be replicated and validated in larger patient cohorts.

6. Acknowledgments We are grateful to for:
A grant in 2017 supporting this and other projects.
We further thank Gregor Wenning (Innsbruck, Austria)
and Jochen Klucken (Erlangen, Germany) for supporting
our research activities.