Influence of Levodopa therapy on static balance in Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Objective: To study the effect Levodopa on static standing balance in persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Methods: Twenty-seven persons with PD participated in the study. Persons with PD were tested for balance in a standing position using Sensory Organization Test (SOT) before (‘off’) and after taking the levodopa (‘on’) on the same day. SOT variables were average sway velocity, percentage of maximum stability and percentage of ankle strategy.

Results: Levodopa significantly increased sway velocity under visual absence and visual distorted conditions (somatosensory, p< 0.05).  Percentage of ankle strategy decreased after the medication when testing under eye open and eye close conditions (P<0.05). No significant differences were found when compared the maximum stability the standing balance between ‘off’ and ‘on’ medications.

Conclusion: Levodopa therapy improved the ability to maintain static balance under inappropriate somatosensory information and dependence on visual information with using hip strategy instead of ankle strategy but failed to influence the ability to maintain COG stability over the base of support in static standing. This study demonstrated that the different postural stability in PD. It could be fundamental data in helping clinicians to assess and plan an effective training regimen for PD.

Keywords: Postural instability, Parkinson’s disease, Sensory Organization Test (SOT), Levodopa, Balance