Does auditory rhythmical cueing improve gait in people with Parkinson's disease and cognitive impairment

Gait and balance problems resulting from Parkinson's disease (PD) are more common in people with PD and dementia (PDD), yet, it is unknown whether the benefits of cueing therapy for mobility generalize to them. We aimed to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of auditory cues to improve gait in PD and cognitive impairment (PD-CI). Nine participants with PD-CI walked with and without auditory cues using two different strategies: (1) Cue with temporal instruction to “step in time to the beat,” (2) Cue with spatiotemporal instruction to “take a big step in time to the beat.” Cues were delivered with a metronome at preferred stepping frequency while on medication during single and dual-task gait. Gait was assessed using GAITRite and walking speed, stride amplitude, step frequency, and variability (CV%) of step and double limb support time were measured.