Clinical and posturographic correlates of falling in Parkinson's disease.

Abstract

Various clinical tests and balance scales have been used to assess postural stability and the risk of falling in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD). Quantitative posturography allows a more objective assessment but the findings in previous studies have been inconsistent and few studies have investigated which posturographic measures correlate best with a history of falling. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of clinical tests, balance scales, and stable-platform posturography in detecting postural instability and discriminating between fallers and non-fallers in a home-dwelling PD cohort. Forty-eight PD subjects (Hoehn & Yahr stage 1-3) and 17 age-matched..