Freezing of Gait Following Hypoxic Brain Injury

Corresponding author: Yong Wook Kim Department and Research Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 250 Seongsanno, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-752, Korea Tel: +82-2-2228-3716, Fax: +82-2-363-2795, E-mail: [email protected] Copyright © 2011 by Korean Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2011; 35: 153-157 Case Report Freezing of Gait Following Hypoxic Brain Injury Two Cases Reports Yu Hui Won, M.D., Mi Hee Park, M.D., Yong Wook Kim, M.D. Department and Research Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 120-752, Korea Freezing of gait (FOG), which is the most common symptoms in Parkinson’s disease, is a unique gait disorder that patients are unable to initiate or continue locomotion. However, the pathophysiology of FOG has been poorly understood. We report two cases, one case is a 26-year old man and the second case is a 65-year old man, who showed FOG following hypoxic brain injuries caused by sudden cardiac arrest and hypovolemic shock, respectively. Brain F-18 FDG-PET images demonstrated the diffuse cortical hypometabolism in case 1 patient, and the decreased metabolism of the subcortical structures in case 2 patient. Two patients showed the typical features of FOG (turning, destination, and tight quarter hesitations combined with kinesia paradoxa) and the abnormal patterns of temporospatial data in kinematic gait analysis. We present two cases of FOG following hypoxic brain injury with reviewing of some literatures.