Summary
It was the purpose of the present study to quantify the expected motor deficit in parkinsonian patients with the computer assisted Motor Performance Test Series (MPS), version 05.87 by Schuhfried (1987) and to examine which of the motor test variables found correlate at a significance level of p<0.01 with items of “motor examination” recorded at neurological examination and “activities of daily living” of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), version 3.0.
38 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) stages I–IV according to Hoehn and Yahr, aged 41 to 73 years were studied. The study design, i.e. initial rating by the physician followed immediately by testing of motor function with MPS was strictly adhered to in each patient.
Physician's rating of rigor and the scores of the semiquantitative tests (finger taps, hand movements and alternating movements) as expression of hypokinesia and the “activities of daily living” correlated with the 3 factors of the Motor Performance Test Series at a highly significant level independent of disease stage. Tremor is only partly and never significantly reflected in the motor data measured. Stages I–II and II–IV (Hoehn and Yahr) differ significantly in the representative data of the Motor Performance Test Series.
The results of the study support the assumption that MPS is a valid instrument for quantitative measurement of the motor deficit in parkinsonian patients, but that only some subtests are “pathognomonic”.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Benecke R, Rothwell JC, Dick JPR, Day BL, Marsden CD (1986) Performance of simultaneous movements in patients with Parkinson's disease. Brain 109: 739–757
Berardelli A, Accornero N, Argenta M, Meco G, Manfredi M (1986) Fast complex arm movements in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 49: 1146–1149
Bernheimer H, Birkmayer W, Hornykiewicz O (1973) Verteilung des 5-Hydroxytryptamins (Serotonin) im Gehirn des Menschen und sein Verhalten bei Patienten mit Parkinson-syndrom. Wien Klin Wochenschr 73: 1056
Birkmayer W, Riederer P (1985) Die Parkinson-Krankheit: Biochemie, Klinik, Therapie, 2. Aufl. Springer, Wien New York, S 75–77
Bloxham CA, Mindel TA, Frith CD (1984) Initiation and execution of predictable and unpredictable movements in Parkinson's disease. Brain 107: 371–384
Brooks VB (1986) The neural basis of motor control. Oxford University Press, New York
Brown RG, Marsden CD, Quinn N, Wyke MA (1984) Alterations in cognitive performance and affect-arousal state during fluctuations in motor function in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 47: 454–465
Canter CJ, de la Torre R, Mier M (1961) A method of evaluating disability in patients with Parkinson's disease. J Nerv Ment Dis 133: 143–147
Chan CW, Kearney RE, Melvill Jones G (1979) Tibialis anterior response to sudden ankle displacements in normal and parkinsonian subjects. Brain Res 173: 303–314
De Long MR, Georgopoulos AP (1981) Motor functions of the basal ganglia. In: Brooks VB (ed) Handbooks of physiology, section 1. The nervous system, vol II. Motor control, part 2. American Physiological Society, Bethesda, pp 1017–1061
Evarts EV, Teravainen M, Calne DB (1981) Reaction time in Parkinson's disease. Brain 104: 167–186
Fahn S, Elton RL and Members of the UPDRS Development Committee (1987) Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale. In: Fahn S, Marsden CD, Calne D, Goldstein M (eds) Recent developments in Parkinson's disease, vol 2. Mac Millian Healthcare Information, Florham Park NJ, pp 153–163
Findley LJ, Gresty MA, Halmagyi GM (1981) Tremor, the cogwheel phenomenon and clonus in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 44: 543–546
Hallert M, Marsden CD (1979) Ballistic flexion movements of the human thumb. J Physiol (London) 294: 33–50
Hoehn MM, Yahr MD (1967) Parkinsonism: onset, progression and mortality. Neurology 17: 427–442
Lakke JPWF (1985) Axial apraxia in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Sci 69: 37–46
Ludin HP (1988) Das Parkinsonsyndrom. In: Baumgartner G, Cohen R, Grüsser OJ, Helmchen H, Schmidt LR (Hrsg) Psychiatrie, Neurologie, Klinische Psychologie. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart Berlin Köln Mainz, S 104
Marsden CD (1982) The mysterious motor function of the basal ganglia: the Robert Wartenberg lecture. Neurology 32: 514–539
Mortimer JA, Webster DD (1979) Evidence for quantitative association between EMG stretch responses and parkinsonian rigidity. Brain Res 162: 169–173
Nasel Ch JO, Pinter MM, Helscher R, Schnaberth G (1991) Effizienz im klinischen Alltag computer-assistierter Methoden zur Verlaufsdokumentation von Parkinsonpatienten. Neuropsychiatrie (in press)
Parkinson J (1817) An essay on the shaking palsy. Wittingham and Rowland, London
Rafal RD, Inhoff AW, Friedman JH, Bernstein E (1987) Programming and execution of sequential movements in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 50: 1267–1273
Rafal RD, Friedman JH, Lannon MC (1989) Preparation of manual movements in hemiparkinsonism. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 52: 399–402
Scholz E, Diener HC, Noth J, Friedemann H, Dichgans J, Bacher M (1987) Medium and long latency EMG responses in leg muscles: Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 50: 66–70
Schoppe KJ (1974) Das MLS-Gerät: Ein neuer Testapparat zur Messung feinmotorischer Leistungen. Diagnostica 20: 43–46
Schuhfried G (1987) Programm Description Motor Performances Test Series PC/S, version 05.87. Copyright by Dr G Schuhfried Ges.m.b.H
Schwab RS, Chafetz ME, Walker S (1954) Control of two simultaneous voluntary motor acts in normals and parkinsonism. Arch Neurol 72: 591–598
Steg G, Ingvarsson PE, Johnels B, Valls M, Thorselius M (1989) Objective measurement of motor disability in Parkinson's disease. Acta Neurol Scand 126: 67–75
Stern Y, Mayeux R, Rosen J, Ilson J (1983) Perceptual motor dysfunction in Parkinson's disease: a deficit in sequential and predictive voluntary movement. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 46: 145–151
Sturm W, Büssing A (1985) Ergänzende Normierungsdaten und Retest-Reliabilitätskoeffizienten zur Motorischen Leistungsserie (MLS) nach Schoppe. Diagnostica 3: 234–245
Tatton WG, Lee RG (1975) Evidence for abnormal long-loop reflexes in rigid parkinsonian patients. Brain Res 100: 671–676
Ward CD, Sanes JN, Dambrosia JM, Calne DB (1983) Methods for evaluating treatment in Parkinson's disease. Adv Neurol 37; 1–7
Webster DD (1968) Clinical analysis of the disability in Parkinson's disease. Mod Treat 5: 257–282
Williams J (1980) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 3rd ed. American Psychiatric Association, Washington D. C.
Woollacott MH, Bonnet M, Yabe K (1984) Preparatory process for anticipatory postural adjustments: modulation of leg muscles reflex pathways during preparation for arm movements in standing man. Exp Brain Res 55: 263–271
Worringham CJ, Stelmach GE (1990) Practice effects on the preprogramming of discrete movements in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 53: 702–704
Yokochi F, Nakamura R, Narabayashi H (1985) Reaction time of patients with Parkinson's disease with reference to assymmetry of neurological signs. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 48: 702–705
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pinter, M.M., Helscher, R.J., Nasel, C.O.J. et al. Quantification of motor deficit in Parkinson's disease with a motor performance test series. J Neural Transm Gen Sect 4, 131–141 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02251476
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02251476