Gait impairments in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) underlying reduced walking endurance are still poorly understood. Thus, our objective was to assessed gait asymmetry (GA) and bilateral coordination of gait (BCG), among pwMS during the six-minute walk test (6MWT) and their association with disease severity. For this aim, we recruited ninety-two pwMS (age: 46.6 +- 7.9; 83% females) with a broad range of clinical disability who completed the 6MWT wearing gait analysis system. GA was assessed by comparing left and right swing times, and BCG by using the phase coordination index (PCI). Several functional and subjective gait assessments were performed. Results show that gait is more asymmetric and less coordinated as the disease progresses (p<.0001). Participants with mild MS showed significant better BCG as reflected by lower PCI values in comparison to the other two MS severity groups (severe: p =.001, moderate: p=.02). GA and PCI also deteriorated significantly with time during the 6MWT (p<.0001). GA and PCI (i.e., BCG) show somewhat weaker associations with clinical MS status than associations observed between functional and subjective gait assessments and MS status. Similar to other neurological cohorts, GA and PCI are important parameters to assess and to target in interventions among pwMS.

中文翻译：

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多发性硬化症患者的步态不对称和步态在六分钟步行测试中的双侧协调

步行耐力降低导致的多发性硬化症（pwMS）患者的步态障碍仍知之甚少。因此，我们的目标是评估六分钟步行测试（6MWT）中的pwMS中的步态不对称（GA）和步态的双侧协调性（BCG）及其与疾病严重性的关系。为了这个目标，我们招募了92名pwMS（年龄：46.6±7.9；女性为83％），他们完成了6MWT佩戴步态分析系统，具有广泛的临床残疾。通过比较左右摆动时间和使用相位协调指数（PCI）的BCG来评估GA。进行了几种功能性和主观步态评估。结果显示，步态随着疾病的进展而更加不对称且协调性较低（p <.0001）。与其他两个MS严重程度组相比，轻度MS的参与者表现出更好的BCG，如较低的PCI值所反映（严重：p = .001，中度：p = .02）。在6MWT期间，GA和PCI也随时间显着恶化（p <.0001）。与功能性和主观步态评估与MS状态之间的相关性相比，GA和PCI（即BCG）与临床MS状态的相关性较弱。与其他神经系统队列研究类似，GA和PCI是评估和靶向pwMS干预的重要参数。BCG）显示出与临床MS状态的关联比在功能性和主观步态评估与MS状态之间的关联弱一些。与其他神经系统队列研究类似，GA和PCI是评估和靶向pwMS干预的重要参数。BCG）与临床MS状态的关联性比在功能和主观步态评估与MS状态之间的关联性弱。与其他神经系统队列研究类似，GA和PCI是评估和靶向pwMS干预的重要参数。