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Abstract

 
Abstract No.:C-D3124
Country:Canada
  
Title:BIMANUAL AND UNIMANUAL PERFORMANCE ON A RAPID ALTERNATING MOVEMENT TASK IN HUNTINGTON’S DISEASE WITH CHOREA
  
Authors/Affiliations:1 Alison Fenney*; 3 Mandar Jog; 2 Christian Duval;
1 McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; 2 Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada ; 3 University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
  
Content:Objectives: To determine the characteristics of unimanual and bimanual performance on a rapid alternating movement (RAM) task in individuals with Huntington’s disease chorea.

Materials and Methods: Whole body movement (WBM), captured simultaneously with performance, was recorded in 3 dimensions using a 6-degrees-of-freedom electromagnetic measurement system, the MotionMonitor™ magnetic motion tracker (Innovative Sports Training, Chicago, Illinois). RAM performance was recorded using forearm rotational sensors providing velocity and range of pronation-supination cycling, as well as a score of bimanual coordination, or incoordination (disdiadokokinesia). Two groups were tested, one composed of individuals with Huntington’s disease chorea and a gender/age-matched control group. Subjects were asked to complete three trials of a rapid alternating pronation-supination movement with the dominant hand, non-dominant hand and both hands simultaneously, and three trials of a ‘rest’ condition.

Results: As expected amplitude of WBM was significantly greater in the HD group than control in both rest and active conditions, for both the dominant hand [group (F=21.4, p<0.05), condition (F=31.9, p<0.05), group x condition (F=19.3, p<0.05)] and non-dominant hand [group (F=21.7, p<0.05), condition (F=25.5, p<0.05), group x condition (F=9.6, p<0.05)]. During the bilateral condition there was a significant effect of group (F=8.7, p<0.05) and condition (F=37.6, p<0.05), but no group by condition interaction due to the increased level of WBM amplitude in the control group during bimanual RAM.
The HD group displayed significantly greater RANGE for the dominant and non-dominant hand, (t = 4.663, p<0.05, t = 231.0, p<0.05), as well as both hands in the bilateral condition (dominant: t = 3.467, non-dominant; t = 5.056, p<0.05).
VELOCITY of RAM cycling in the dominant (t = 3.053, p<0.05) and non- dominant hand (t = 3.790, p<0.05) was significantly greater for HD than control, however, there were no significant differences in the bilateral condition.
Disdiadokokinesia score, a measure of incoordination of RAM cycling between hands, was calculated by comparison of the dominant and non-dominant hand cycling during the bilateral condition. The HD group had a significantly greater disdiadokokinesia score (p<0.05) than control, illustrating greater impairment of bimanual coordination. There was no correlation between amplitude of WBM, chorea, and disdiadokokinesia score (R=0.176, p=0.5).

Conclusion: The results show that individuals with Huntington’s disease chorea do not express bradykinesia during a rapid alternating movement task in either the dominant, non-dominant, or bimanual performance. Analysis of whole body movement, chorea, and performance reveals that amplitude of chorea is not responsible for incoordination of RAM cycling.
  
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