Main scales for Parkinsons disease assessment: use in physical

Abstract

The Parkinson' disease (PD) is a degenerative illness of the central nervous system, the main features of which are tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia. Therapeutic progress has brought about several clinical scales to assess PD patients, in an attempt to monitor disease development and to evaluate the effectiveness of different treatments. This study aims at reviewing main scales used to assess individuals with PD, discussing their application onto physical therapy practice. Scales found include: Degree of Disability or Hoenn and Yahr Scale; Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS); Webster's PD Rating Scale; Sydney Scale; Northwestern University Disability Scales (NUDS); PD Questionnaire (PDQ-39) and PD Quality of Life (PDQL) ; and Parkinson's Activity Scale (PAS). Webster's scale rates the patient according to the degree of disability; however, its reliability hasn't been attested. Sydney Scale assesses mainly the structural and corporal function levels, while NUDS focuses daily functional activities. The PDQ - 39 and PDQL questionnaires are specifically designed to evaluate patients' perception of their quality of life, me PAS was recently developed based on physical therapy objectives, but so far its reliability has not been established. Both the Hoehn and Yahr and the UPDR scales stand out for their reliability and may be used by physical therapists, allowing for better evaluation of patients' functional status.