The relationships between the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale and lower extremity functional performance in persons with early-stage Parkinson's disease.

摘要

BACKGROUND: The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) is the "gold standard" assessment tool for characterizing impairments in persons with Parkinson's disease (PD); however, this scale's ability to predict functional capabilities across different functional tasks has not been adequately assessed in persons with early-stage PD. METHODS: Thirty persons with PD within 3 years of diagnosis and without motor fluctuation performed self-selected walking, fast walking, and sit-to-stand and stair-climbing tasks. Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to calculate correlations with a standard UPDRS examination (P<.05). Simple linear regression models were used to fit each functional performance outcome measure with the UPDRS total predictor scores. RESULTS: The correlations between the UPDRS motor (section III), UPDRS total scores, and all timed functional performance measures were fair to good (range, 0.45-0.57). Conversely, only greater self-selected time to walk 50 ft correlated with a higher UPDRS activities of daily living (II) score (r=.386; P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: The UPDRS motor (III) and total scores may be good predictors of overall lower extremity function in persons with early-stage PD. Understanding the relationships between UPDRS scores and functional capabilities may allow clinicians to better quantify early physical functioning, longitudinally assess disease progression, and assess the efficacy of interventions.