Falls in Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease

Abstract

Falls in Parkinson__s (PD) and Huntington__s disease (HD) are common. 50 % of moderately affected PD patients sustained two or more falls during a prospective follow-up of 6 months. During a 3 month period 40 % of HD patients reported one or more fall. Many falls resulted in minor injuries and 42 % of PD patients reported a fear of future falls. A different study on quality of life in PD showed that quality of life scores were significantly related to fear of falling in PD. In order to predict future falls several clinical tests and risk factors were studied. However, it proved difficult to identify future fallers and asking for prior falls was the best predictor of falls in the near future in PD. Analysis with quantative measurements in HD patients showed that an increased medio lateral trunk sway and a decreased stride length were associated with an increased fall risk. Based on the findings in these studies and on a literature study, the thesis concludes with a proposal for a multidisciplinary intervention program to prevent falls in Parkinson__s disease.