Reduction of Falls in the Elderly - Parkinson's Disease

Falls and postural instability are common complications of advanced Parkinson's Disease (PD). Falls in PD often have devastating consequences, leading to a poor overall prognosis. In addition, falls in PD are associated with substantial medical expenses due to treatment of injuries and nursing home admission. The risk of falls in older PD patients is aggravated by "generic" age-related factors, such as sedative medication or poor vision. Observations on elderly persons without PD suggest that a multifactorial prevention program might be more effective. We propose to investigate the effectiveness of a multifactorial prevention program aimed at the prevention of falls in PD, which is based on disease-specific treatment strategies with demonstrated efficacy in PD, as well as prevention strategies with proven effectiveness for the general elderly population.

In this study an individualised multifactorial program aimed at the prevention of falls in PD containing PD-specific elements and a generic falls prevention program will be compared to usual care.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients with idiopathic Parkinson's Disease, diagnosed according to the Brain Bank criteria of the UK Parkinson's Society
• Regular control by the neurologist
• Living independently in the community
• Able to complete the trial questionnaires
• An increased risk for falling, defined as:

• at least one fall in the preceding 12 months OR
• recurrent (monthly) near falls in the preceding 12 months OR
• fear of falling OR (iv) avoidance of activities due to fear of falling OR a combination of these findings

Exclusion criteria

• Atypical parkinsonian syndromes
• Hoehn and Yahr stage 5
• Severe cognitive impairment (MMSE < 24)
• Severe co-morbidity (e.g., cancer)
• Planned surgical procedure for PD within the intervention period
• Patients who have already visited the Multidisciplinary Assessment Center