A Retrospective Study of Progressive Gait Impairment in Alzheimer’s Disease

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Abstract
Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) have increased gait disturbances throughout disease progression. However, an understanding of gait impairment and progression in early versus late AD is lacking. Further, the longitudinal progression of gait impairment in AD as well as in those with MCI that transition to AD is lacking. Understanding gait pathology and progression of gait impairment is critical for implementation of strategies that could limit the high prevalence of gait related falls, mobility disability and decreased overall function. Further, better understanding of the gait impairment progression may provide insight into disease processes. As such, this retrospective study aimed to evaluate, via cross sectional and longitudinal analyses, the relationship between MCI and AD diagnosis and gait parameters. Cross-sectional findings demonstrate significantly slower gait velocity and decreased step length as well as increased double limb support time and step length variability of both early and late AD when compared to MCI. For the longitudinal data the average time between gait assessment visits was 561 ± 267 days. The results demonstrate increasing gait impairment from intial gait assesement (visit 1) to a follow up gait assessment (visit 2) in both the early AD and late AD groups as well as significant decline in the gait profile from visit 1 to visit 2 in those with MCI that transitioned to having AD. These findings are important as they indicate an increasingly pathological gait profile among these populations suggesting need for early intervention.

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