TY  - JOUR
A1  - Farinelli, Veronica
A1  - Palmisano, Chiara
A1  - Marchese, Silvia Maria
A1  - Strano, Camilla Mirella Maria
A1  - D’Arrigo, Stefano
A1  - Pantaleoni, Chiara
A1  - Ardissone, Anna
A1  - Nardocci, Nardo
A1  - Esposti, Roberto
A1  - Cavallari, Paolo
T1  - Postural control in children with cerebellar ataxia
JF  - Applied Sciences
N2  - Controlling posture, i.e., governing the ensemble of involuntary muscular activities that manage body equilibrium, represents a demanding function in which the cerebellum plays a key role. Postural activities are particularly important during gait initiation when passing from quiet standing to locomotion. Indeed, several studies used such motor task for evaluating pathological conditions, including cerebellar disorders. The linkage between cerebellum maturation and the development of postural control has received less attention. Therefore, we evaluated postural control during quiet standing and gait initiation in children affected by a slow progressive generalized cerebellar atrophy (SlowP) or non-progressive vermian hypoplasia (Joubert syndrome, NonP), compared to that of healthy children (H). Despite the similar clinical evaluation of motor impairments in NonP and SlowP, only SlowP showed a less stable quiet standing and a shorter and slower first step than H. Moreover, a descriptive analysis of lower limb and back muscle activities suggested a more severe timing disruption in SlowP. Such differences might stem from the extent of cerebellar damage. However, literature reports that during childhood, neural plasticity of intact brain areas could compensate for cerebellar agenesis. We thus proposed that the difference might stem from disease progression, which contrasts the consolidation of compensatory strategies.
KW  - children
KW  - gait initiation
KW  - postural control
KW  - generalized cerebellar atrophy
KW  - cerebellar vermis hypoplasia
KW  - progressive ataxia
KW  - compensatory strategies
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-200692
SN  - 2076-3417
VL  - 10
IS  - 5
ER  -