The study “Nonpharmacological, nonsurgical treatments for freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review” published in the journal Movement Disorders, has been led by Manuel Delgado, Neurologist of the Sierrallana Hospital and researcher of the Area of Psychiatry of IDIVAL and has had the participation of other experts in disorders of the movement of the HUMV and the University Bio-Medical Campus of Rome.
The work consists of a systematic review of the existing literature, according to international guidelines, which tries to answer a simple question: what non-pharmacological treatments exist to treat gait blockages in Parkinson's disease and what effectiveness do they have Gait blockages are common in Parkinson's disease, especially in advanced cases, and have an important impact on the patient's quality of life. They consist of a momentary inability to walk despite having the intention of doing so. In many cases they are difficult to treat and respond poorly to medications so, in recent years, multiple studies have investigated the use of non-pharmacological therapies for their management, such as physiotherapy, cognitive stimulation, magnetic transcranial stimulation or the use of glasses of augmented reality.
To date, this issue had not been systematically reviewed. In addition to assessing the quality of studies published so far, this review offers a classification of the various existing treatments based on their mechanism of action. This pathophysiological view of the various approaches serves as an integrating point of what has been done so far and as a starting point for future studies. Along these lines, Dr. Delgado leads an IDIVAL-funded project, in which an augmented reality system reinforced with mechanical feedback has been developed, the effectiveness of which will be explored soon in a group of patients with Parkinson's disease.
