BACKGROUND Postural instability presents a common and disabling consequence of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). However, knowledge about postural behavior of CIPN patients is sparse. With this pilot study, we used a new approach to i) characterize postural impairments as compared to healthy subjects, ii) allocate possible abnormalities to a set of parameters describing sensorimotor function, and iii) evaluate the effects of a balance-based exercise intervention. METHODS We analyzed spontaneous and externally perturbed postural control in eight CIPN patients before and after a balance-based exercise intervention by using a modification of an established postural control model. These findings were compared to 15 matched healthy subjects. RESULTS Spontaneous sway amplitude and velocity were larger in CIPN patients compared to healthy subjects. CIPN patients' reactions to external perturbations were smaller compared to healthy subjects, indicating that patients favor vestibular over proprioceptive sensory information. The balance-based exercise intervention up-weighted proprioceptive information in patients. CONCLUSIONS CIPN patients' major postural deficit may relate to underuse of proprioceptive information that results in a less accurate posture control as spontaneous sway results indicate. The balance-based exercise intervention is able to partially correct for this abnormality. Our study contributes to a better understanding of postural impairments in CIPN patients and suggests an effective treatment strategy. TRIAL REGISTRATION German Clinical Trials Register: DRKS00004340, retrospectively registered 04 January 2013.

中文翻译：

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一种新方法来表征化学疗法诱发的周围神经病中的姿势缺陷，并分析运动干预后的姿势适应性。

背景技术姿势不稳是化疗引起的周围神经病（CIPN）的常见而致残的结果。但是，关于CIPN患者的姿势行为的知识很少。通过这项初步研究，我们采用了一种新方法：i）与健康受试者相比，描述姿势障碍； ii）将可能的异常分配给描述感觉运动功能的一组参数； iii）评估基于平衡的运动干预的效果。方法我们通过修正已建立的姿势控制模型，分析了基于平衡的运动干预前后八名CIPN患者的自发性和外在性姿势控制。将这些发现与15位匹配的健康受试者进行了比较。结果与健康受试者相比，CIPN患者的自发摇摆幅度和速度更大。与健康受试者相比，CIPN患者对外部扰动的反应较小，这表明患者更喜欢前庭而不是本体感受性信息。基于平衡的运动干预会增加患者的本体感受信息。结论CIPN患者的主要姿势缺陷可能与本体感受信息的使用不足有关，导致自发摇摆结果表明姿势控制不准确。基于平衡的运动干预能够部分纠正这种异常。我们的研究有助于更好地理解CIPN患者的姿势障碍，并提出有效的治疗策略。试验注册德国临床试验注册：