Supplementary Material for: Quantification of Gait Abnormalities in Healthy-Looking Multiple Sclerosis Patients (with Expanded Disability Status Scale 0-1.5)

<strong><em>Background:</em></strong> Gait impairment is a common symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, but there is a lack of evidence about gait performance in the group of MS patients with no apparent disability. The aim of our study was to evaluate gait characteristics in MS patients with no apparent impairment of walking and with an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS 0-1.5), and to determine whether any abnormalities are detectable by common clinical tests. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This was an observational study of 64 MS patients with an EDSS 0-1.5 and 47 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. We measured their performance in the timed 25-foot walk test (T25FWT) and the 2-minute walk test (2MWT). The spatiotemporal parameters of gait were measured using a GAITRite instrument. <b><i>Results:</i></b> MS patients with no apparent disability (EDSS 0-1.5) performed worse in T25FWT and 2MWT than normal controls. During the self-selected walking speed test on GAITRite, MS patients had a prolonged double support phase, and during the fast walking speed test, they had lower cadence and decreased step length.

<strong><em>研究背景：</em></strong> 步态障碍是多发性硬化症（multiple sclerosis, MS）患者的常见症状，但目前尚缺乏针对无明显行走功能障碍的MS患者步态表现的相关研究证据。本研究旨在评估扩展残疾状态量表（Expanded Disability Status Scale, EDSS）评分0~1.5分的MS患者的步态特征，并探究常规临床检查能否检测出此类患者的步态异常。<b><i>研究方法：</i></b> 本研究为观察性研究，纳入64例EDSS评分0~1.5分的MS患者，以及47例年龄与性别相匹配的健康对照人群。采用25英尺步行计时测试（timed 25-foot walk test, T25FWT）与2分钟步行测试（2-minute walk test, 2MWT）评估受试者的步行表现；使用GAITRite步态分析仪采集并分析步态时空参数。<b><i>研究结果：</i></b> EDSS评分0~1.5分的无明显残疾MS患者，在T25FWT与2MWT中的表现均劣于健康对照人群。在GAITRite系统的自主选择步速测试中，MS患者的双支撑相时长延长；而在快速步速测试中，其步频更低、步长更短。