Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There is a scarcity of quantitative research on gait differences among patients with different motor subtypes of Parkinson's disease (PD), especially during the early and middle stages of the condition. The purpose of this study is to describe the gait characteristics of PD with different motor subtypes in the early and middle stages and to identify the most sensitive indicators of gait impairment. METHODS: General information, including age, gender, disease duration, levodopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD), and falls, was collected. Motor and non-motor symptoms of PD were assessed using multiple scales. Patients' walking function and lower limb joint movement ability were analyzed using a 3D gait analysis system. RESULTS: The study included 64 patients with early and middle-stage PD, of whom 33 were classified as the TD subtype, 24 were classified as the PIGD subtype, and 7 were classified as the Mixed subtype. In addition, 5 healthy subjects were included in the evaluation as healthy controls. The PIGD patients have significantly higher LEDD (431.08 ± 250.90 mg vs. 302.08 ± 164.64 mg, p = 0.034) and a higher number of falls (0.29 vs. 0.00, p = 0.018) than the TD patients. The overall gait disturbances and motor and non-motor symptoms did not exhibit significant differences between TD and PIGD patients. However, the decrease in GDI (β = -0.730 vs. β = -0.235, p = 0.043) and hip flexion and extension range (β = -0.533 vs. β = -0.470, p < 0.001) was more pronounced in PIGD patients compared to TD patients as the MDS-UPDRS Ⅲ score increased. CONCLUSION: There is no significant difference in gait severity between patients with TD and PIGD subtypes during the early and middle stages of PD. However, PIGD patients exhibit a more rapid progression of gait impairment than TD, particularly affecting hip mobility.