Effect of Weights and Elastic Bands upon Sway of the Center of Gravity in Patients with Spinocerebellar Degeneration in Reference to Clinical Signs and Magnetic Resonance Imagings

Nineteen patients with spinocerebellar degeneration were studied on the effect of various kinds of loadings in an attempt to reduce ataxic gait. Weights of either 250g or 500g around the each ankle and also of 1kg anteriorly or posteriorly placed around the waist as well as elastic bands around the ankles and the waist were employed. The sway of the center of gravity was measured while the patient was standing upright on a Gravicorder (Anima, Japan) with eyes fixed at 3m ahead for 20 to 60 seconds. The sway area was recorded before and after each testing and the rate of improvement was used for evaluation. Clinical signs were scored according to the severity of gait disturbance, maintenance of standing posture and hyperreflexia. Midline sagittal magnetic resonance imagings of the brain obtained by 0.5 tesla equipments were assessed using an image analyzer (PIAS, Japan), and the area ratio of the vermis and/or the pons to the posterior fossa was used as an index. The following results were obtained; 1) Weights loading both at the ankles and the waist were effective for reducing the sway of the center of gravity, and the rate of improvement by above two methods were significantly correlated. The patients who received the benefits were turned out to have hyperreflexia (p