AUGMENTED MOVEMENT STRATEGIES FOR POSTURAL CONTROL IN PATIENTS WITH SPINOCEREBELLAR ATAXIA TYPE 3: A CASECONTROL STUDY

Resumo

This study investigated the movement strategies for
postural control in patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3). Methods: This case-control study enrolled 5 patients with SCA3 (aged 41 to 51 years) and 5 healthy participants group-matched by age, body mass and body height. Participants performed 3 trials lasting 30 s each of postural tasks characterized by: feet apart or together; eyes open or closed. Center of pressure (CoP) data was quantifed using three-dimensional (3D: number of high-density and high-speed regions, average and maximal distances among regions), two-dimensional (2D: elliptical area, average velocity) and one-dimensional (1D: standard deviation, velocity) parameters. Results: Analysis of variance revealed signifcant interaction effect between group*task for 1D (F
12,238=3.496, p<0.001), 2D (F6,184=11.472, p<0.001), and 3D parameters (F12,238=2.543, p=0.004). Signifcant univariate effects for postural task were observed for all parameters, with higher body sway values under visual and biomechanical constraints,either separated or combined. Conclusions: Patients with SCA3 presented augmented
movement strategiescompared with healthy subjects, characterized by increasing body sway under more demanding biomechanical and/or visual constraints. Three-dimensional kinematic mapping revealed either random movement strategies or a unique movement strategy characterized by a stochastic CoP distribution, with high CoP speed to correct for large body sway deviations.