Observational Study on the Relationship Between Gait Freezing and Tongue Movement Freezing in Adults with Parkinsons Disease

What this Trial Is About

Parkinsons disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by difficulties with movement and swallowing, known as dysphagia, which affects many patients at various stages. This condition can severely impact quality of life and lead to serious complications like aspiration pneumonia. Researchers are investigating the relationship between gait freezing, a common movement difficulty, and oropharyngeal freezing, a swallowing-related issue, to better understand their connection and improve early detection and care. Participants will undergo several assessments during their OFF medication phase, including the Unified Parkinsons Disease Rating Scale UPDRS, Timed Up & Go TUG test, New Freezing of Gait Questionnaire NFOG-Q, BAASTA Battery, and a clinical swallowing evaluation. Based on the results of gait freezing assessments, participants will be grouped into those with or without freezing of gait. If swallowing problems are suspected during evaluation, a swallowing radiographic study called pharyngography will be performed to clarify the nature of the disorder. Throughout the study, participants will be assessed for the presence of oropharyngeal freezing using pharyngography and clinical tests. Researchers will measure symptom severity, fluctuations, gait freezing, rhythm abilities, swallowing function, aspiration severity, food ingestion effectiveness, and quality of life impacts. All assessments occur at enrollment during the OFF phase. The study aims to better understand these freezing phenomena and their effects on swallowing and daily living in Parkinsons patients.

Study of the Link Between Freezing of Gait and Oropharyngeal Freezing in Parkinson's Patients