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Biomedicines
Volume 13
Issue 11
10.3390/biomedicines13112727
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

L-Dopa Comparably Improves Gait and Limb Movements in Parkinson’s Disease: A Wearable Sensor Analysis

by
Alessandro Zampogna
1,2,†,
Luca Pietrosanti
3,†,
Giovanni Saggio
3,†,
Martina Patera
1,
Marco Falletti
1,
Valentina Bellia
1,
Francesco Fattapposta
1,
Giovanni Costantini
3 and
Antonio Suppa
1,2,*
1
Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
2
IRCCS Neuromed Institute, 86077 Pozzilli, Italy
3
Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Biomedicines 2025, 13(11), 2727; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13112727
Submission received: 18 September 2025 / Revised: 23 October 2025 / Accepted: 4 November 2025 / Published: 6 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Neurophysiology and the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Spatio-temporal gait parameters have been proposed as surrogate markers for objective, remote monitoring of global motor status in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Our observational, cross-sectional pilot study tested whether gait metrics, derived from wearable sensors, reflect dopaminergic responsiveness in both axial and appendicular functions. Methods: Twenty-two PD patients were evaluated both under and not under L-Dopa (ON and OFF states, respectively). Motor performance was assessed using wearable inertial sensors during standardized tasks involving gait and upper/lower limb movements. From the recorded kinematics, measures of movement amplitude, speed, rhythm, and consistency were extracted, and dopaminergic response was compared in appendicular and axial functions. Results: Treatment effects were more pronounced on the more affected body side. Improvements in appendicular amplitude, speed, and consistency closely matched those observed in spatio-temporal gait parameters. In contrast, rhythm measures displayed a divergent pattern, with reduced gait cadence but increased hand movement frequency, showing an inverse correlation. No significant correlations emerged between axial and appendicular domains for amplitude, velocity, or consistency, whereas improvements in step length and gait velocity were associated with MDS-UPDRS III motor scores. Conclusions: These findings overall suggest that specific gait metrics, particularly those reflecting amplitude and velocity, may provide reliable, sensor-based indicators of overall motor status in PD, supporting their use in remote monitoring.
Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; gait; L-Dopa; wearable sensors Parkinson’s disease; gait; L-Dopa; wearable sensors

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Zampogna, A.; Pietrosanti, L.; Saggio, G.; Patera, M.; Falletti, M.; Bellia, V.; Fattapposta, F.; Costantini, G.; Suppa, A. L-Dopa Comparably Improves Gait and Limb Movements in Parkinson’s Disease: A Wearable Sensor Analysis. Biomedicines 2025, 13, 2727. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13112727

AMA Style

Zampogna A, Pietrosanti L, Saggio G, Patera M, Falletti M, Bellia V, Fattapposta F, Costantini G, Suppa A. L-Dopa Comparably Improves Gait and Limb Movements in Parkinson’s Disease: A Wearable Sensor Analysis. Biomedicines. 2025; 13(11):2727. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13112727

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zampogna, Alessandro, Luca Pietrosanti, Giovanni Saggio, Martina Patera, Marco Falletti, Valentina Bellia, Francesco Fattapposta, Giovanni Costantini, and Antonio Suppa. 2025. "L-Dopa Comparably Improves Gait and Limb Movements in Parkinson’s Disease: A Wearable Sensor Analysis" Biomedicines 13, no. 11: 2727. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13112727

APA Style

Zampogna, A., Pietrosanti, L., Saggio, G., Patera, M., Falletti, M., Bellia, V., Fattapposta, F., Costantini, G., & Suppa, A. (2025). L-Dopa Comparably Improves Gait and Limb Movements in Parkinson’s Disease: A Wearable Sensor Analysis. Biomedicines, 13(11), 2727. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13112727

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