Effect of

Effect of external sensory stimulation by treadmill selleck chemicals walking In this study, gait parameters of 14 drug-naive schizophrenic patients, 14 patients treated with conventional antipsychotics (haloperidol: n=10, mean dose 6.7 +/- SD 3.5 mg/day; fluphcnazine: n=4, 13.0 +/- SD 6.78 mg/day) 14 patients treated with olanzapine (17.7 +/- SD 5.7 mg/day), as well as 14 matched controls, were assessed on a walkway

and on a treadmill at three different, velocities (very slow, intermediately slow, and comfortable).26 In Parkinson’s disease (PD) studies indicate that, conditions involving the use of exteroceptive information may facilitate movement. Although PD patients typically walk with smaller Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical steps, they achieved the desired stride amplitude when provided with external cues while walking on a treadmill.27 External stimulation is supposed to lead to an activation of a correct, stepping response by triggering the use of nonaffected brain areas. Parallel to Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical the results of the abovementioned study on free gait, in this study all patients showed a significantly decreased gait, velocity, predominantly due to a shorter stride length, when compared with the controls. The most striking difference could be observed between the patients treated with conventional neuroleptics and the controls (ANOVA: P< 0.001). Cadence Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical (steps per second) did not differ between the investigated groups. When

gait was evaluated on the treadmill, differences in stride length and cadence were significant, only at the very slow treadmill velocity (ANOVA: P< 0.05). In all patient, groups,

mean stride length was decreased and cadence compensationally increased. Significant differences Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical between the patient, groups were no longer detectable. With increasing treadmill velocities, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical gait, parameters of all patient groups were totally normalized. The results show that, as in patients with PD, impaired gait parameters can also be normalized in schizophrenic patients by external stimulation via treadmill walking, but, only at normal gait, velocities, not, at slow gait, velocities. Analysis of diadochokinetic hand movements This study assessed the impact, of schizophrenia and of antipsychotic treatment on diadochokinesia Adenosine in 20 drugnai’ve patients, 20 patients conventionally treated with antipsychotics (haloperidol: n=13, mean dose 7.6 +/- SD 3.6 mg/day; fluphcnazine: n=7, 6.7 +/- SD 3.2 mg/day), and 20 atypically treated (olanzapine: 16.8 +/- SD 6.4 mg/day) patients, as well as in 20 healthy controls.28 The study revealed that amplitude and peak velocity of diadochokinetic hand movements were significantly reduced in all patient, groups compared with the controls, while frequency of the repetitive movement remained unaffected. The reduction was most pronounced in the conventionally treated patients. In addition, peak acceleration and movement automation were impaired, but only on conventional antipsychotic treatment.

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