Arms that swing unevenly when a person walks may be an early sign of Parkinson’s disease, said researchers at Penn State. The finding is important because earlier diagnosis lets patients get treated sooner, which is the best way to slow the disease’s progress.
Parkinson’s is a nervous system disorder that can cause extreme disability and premature death. No cure for Parkinson’s disease exists, but medications taken early on can reduce symptoms and the likelihood of early death.
Researchers used inexpensive accelerometers on the arms of eight, early-stage Parkinson’s disease patients to measure their arm swings as they walked. They then used software to analyze the movements, and compared the results to measurements taken on eight subjects matched for age and gender who did not have Parkinson’s.
Scientists have known that Parkinson’s patients exhibit reduced arm swing during the later stages of the disease, but no one had come up with an easy way to measure this, said Stephen Piazza, associate professor of kinesiology at Penn State. Piazza was involved in the study, which is in the current issue of Gait & Posture.
“Both the timing and degree of motion are affected,” he said, “so arm swings aren’t coordinated.” Injury, stroke or arthritis could also be behind an uneven arm swing.
“Everyone has some asymmetry, but if you suddenly notice that one side of the body is behaving differently, plus you have another symptom, ask your doctor to check for Parkinson’s,” said Dr. Xuemei Huang, a movement disorders physician at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Other signs include a tremor, stiffness on one side and decreased dexterity, for instance, trouble getting something out of your pocket.
Much cheaper than a brain scan, which is the primary diagnostic test for Parkinson’s, the arm swing test can be done in a primary care physician’s office. Penn State researchers are making the software available to physicians for free.
Researchers hope to work on accelerometer testing methods that give immediate readings, making the arm swing assessments of Parkinson’s disease even easier. “Our hope is that in five to 10 years doctors will use an arm swing device that’s as simple as using a blood pressure cuff to provide a simple test,” said Huang.
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