Table 1
Components of detailed limb coordination and detailed stance assessments.
| Detailed limb coordination | Detailed stance |
|---|---|
| Finger to nose | Truncal sway or titubation while raising |
| Rapid alternating hand movements | Stance base |
| Finger chase | Stance with eyes closed and feet apart |
| Sequential finger movements | Stance with eyes open and feet together |
| Hand rhythm tapping | Stance with eyes closed and feet apart |
| Heel knee shin | Tandem gait |
| Toe following finger | Pull test |
Table 2
Sample description.
| OT participants (range) N = 34 | Healthy controls (range) N = 21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 66.5 (54–87) | 66.1 (62–86) |
| Sex (% female) | 87.9% | 35% |
| Disease Duration in years | 18 (4–44) | n/a |
| Time to diagnosis in years | 7.7 (1–20) | n/a |
| Relevant Medications | # of OT participants | # of controls |
| Gabapentin | 7 | n/a |
| Clonazepam | 4 | n/a |
| Primidone | 2 | n/a |
| Levetiracetam, Pramipexole, Pregabalin, Propranolol, Topiramate | 1 | n/a |
Table 3
Coordination Exam results.
| BRIEF ATAXIA RATING SCALE (n) | Number of patients with BARS item ≥1 (%) | Number of controls with BARS item ≥1 (%) | P Value (2-tailed Student’s t-test) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gait (33 cases, 21 controls) | 23 (69.7) | 5 (23.8) | <0.01 |
| Knee tibia test – right (33 cases, 21 controls) | 11 (33.3) | 0 (0) | 0.01 |
| Knee tibia test – left (33 cases, 21 controls) | 8 (24.2) | 0 (0) | 0.03 |
| Finger to nose – right (33 cases, 21 controls) | 25 (85.8) | 5 (23.8) | <0.01 |
| Finger to nose – left (33 cases, 21 controls) | 28 (84.8) | 6 (28.6) | <0.01 |
| Dysarthria (33 cases, 21 controls) | 3 (9.1) | 0 (0) | 0.16 |
| Oculomotor (33 cases, 21 controls) | 13 (39.4) | 6 (28.6) | 0.34 |
| Number of Participants with BARS total ≥1 (33 cases, 21 controls) | 29 (87.9) | 11 (52.4) | <0.01 |
| BARS total Score (33 cases, 21 controls) | Median, Mean, SD | Median, Mean, SD | P Value (Chi Square Test) |
| 6, 5.42, 3.16 | 1, 1.14, 1.42 | <0.001 | |
| DETAILED LIMB COORDINATION TESTING (n) | Number of patients with abnormal test (%) | Number of controls with abnormal test (%) | P Value (Fisher exact test) |
| Finger to nose (34 cases, 21 controls) | 24 (70.6) | 8 (38.1) | <0.01 |
| Rapid alternating hand movements (34 cases, 20 controls) | 11 (32.4) | 2 (10) | 0.301 |
| Finger Chase (Finger following finger) (34 cases, 20 controls) | 28 (82.4) | 8 (40) | <0.01 |
| Sequential hand movements (34 cases, 21 controls) | 21 (61.8) | 4 (19) | <0.01 |
| Heel knee shin (34 cases, 21 controls) | 8 (23.5) | 0 (0) | 0.02 |
| Toe following finger (34 cases, 20 controls) | 23 (67.6) | 7 (35) | 0.01 |
| Hand rhythm tapping (34 cases, 21 controls) | 7 (21.2) | 2 (9.5) | 0.6 |
| DETAILED STANCE AND GAIT TESTING (n) | Number of patients with abnormal test (%) | Number of controls with abnormaltest (%) | P Value(Fisher exact test) |
| Truncal sway (32 cases, 20 controls) | 9 (28.1) | 0 (0) | <0.01 |
| Stance base (34 cases, 21 controls) | 28 (82.4) | 4 (19) | <0.01 |
| Stance with eyes closed feet apart (34 cases, 20 controls) | 25 (73.5) | 0 (0) | <0.01 |
| Stance with eyes open and feet together (34 cases, 19 controls) | 26 (76.5) | 2 (10.5) | <0.01 |
| Stance with eyes closed and feet together (34 cases, 19 controls) | 31 (91.2) | 5 (26.3) | <0.01 |
| Tandem gait (33 cases, 21 controls) | 20 (60.6) | 3 (14.3) | <0.01 |
| Pull test (more than 3 steps backwards) (33 cases, 21 controls) | 23 (69.7) | 6 (28.6) | <0.01 |
Figure 1
Distribution of BARS total scores (A) and BARS finger-to-nose-test scores (B) among OT patients versus controls.
Table 4
Intra- and Inter-rater Reliability Testing Agreement.
| Task | Intra-rater reliability agreement | Inter-rater reliability agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Detailed Limb Coordination tasks | ||
| FTN | 66.6% | 79.2% |
| Rapid alternating hand movements | 100% | 100% |
| Finger Chase (finger following finger) | 66.6% | 79.2% |
| Sequential hand movements | 66.6% | 95.8% |
| Rhythm tap | 75% | 77.3% |
| Heel knee shin test | 83.3% | 91.7% |
| Toe following finger | 50% | 50% |
| Total Detailed Limb Coordination Score | 72.6% | 81.9% |
| Detailed Stance tasks | ||
| Truncal sway | 66.7% | 70% |
| Raising up | 83.3% | 58.3% |
| Stance base | 100% | 91.7% |
| Stance with eyes closed and feet apart | 83.3% | 72.7% |
| Stance with eyes open and feet together | 100% | 54.5% |
| Stance with eyes closed and feet together | 100% | 54.5% |
| Tandem | 83.3% | 91.7% |
| Pull test | 83% | 91.7% |
| Total Detailed Stance Score | 88% | 73.6% |