Gait Problems: Cognitive Decline

Gait Problems May Presage Cognitive Decline

By John Gever, Senior Editor, MedPage Today

Published: July 15, 2012

Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Action Points

• Note that these studies were published as abstracts and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
• Abnormalities in walking are among the first signs of cognitive impairment and may even develop before such impairments are spotted on neuropsychological tests.
• Point out that elderly participants without dementia had relatively slow average walking speeds in their homes, and had smaller average total brain volume, as well as smaller hippocampal volumes.

VANCOUVER -- Abnormalities in walking are among the first signs of cognitive impairment and may even develop before such impairments are spotted on neuropsychological tests, researchers said here.

Several studies reported at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference found strong relationships between aspects of their gait and measures of cognitive function and/or brain structure. The results suggest that more elaborate evaluations of walking ability, beyond the simple stopwatch tests now in routine use, may help clinicians more quickly identify patients on a downward cognitive arc./.../