Evaluation of Functional Activity and Quality of Life in Women with Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a progressive and degenerative clinic syndrome of the central nervous system that causes movement disorders due to dopamine deficiency at the nigrostriatal pathways. The physical, mental, emotional, social and economic dysfunctions associated with the signs, symptoms and secondary complications interfere with the person’s performance level and may have a negative impact on that person’s quality of life (QV), pushing the carrier of the disease into isolation and a restricted social life. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the functionality, implications and specific aspects related to the quality of life in women with PD. It is a transversal study with a sample of 10 women who were submitted to a Neurologic Physiotherapy Evaluation and a Static Postural Evaluation using the SAPO scale (Software of Postural Evaluation), the Hoehn & Yahr scale (HY) and the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) together with a Parkinson’s Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire (PDQL). The women under evaluation, around 70,5 years old, were classified between 1 and 3 points on the HY scale. The administration of UPDRS indicates some alteration in the daily activities domain (AVD) as well as in those activities related to motor skills, showing increasing difficulties in speaking, independence, mobility and other symptoms such as shaking. Using the SAPO evaluation test, it was found that there was significant postural alteration in all the analyzed body positions. The data obtained agree with the specialized literature according to which the larger the PD clinical effects, including postural modifications, the larger the impact on functional and daily life activities as well as on the person’s quality of life.