CASE REPORT article
Front. Rehabil. Sci.
Sec. Rehabilitation in Neurological Conditions
This article is part of the Research TopicNeurorehabilitation in Low- To Middle- and High-Income Countries: Updates and Perspectives from Around the WorldView all 5 articles
Case Report: Intensive Multidisciplinary Motor-Cognitive Rehabilitation Treatment in Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker
Provisionally accepted
- 1Ospedale Moriggia Pelascini, Gravedona ed Uniti, Italy
- 2Department of Parkinson’s disease, Movement Disorders and Brain Injury Rehabilitation, Moriggia Pelascini Hospital, Gravedona, Italy
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Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) is an genetic autosomal dominant prion brain disease causing ataxia and slow cognitive decline. We describe a 34-year-old woman (S.C.B.) diagnosed with GSS (variant Pro102Leu) in 2020. In 2018 she presented gait instability without falls, early fatigue and dizziness; in three years urinary incontinence, initial insomnia and RBD, writing difficulties and occasional dysphagia appeared. S.C.B. was admitted to the Neurorehabilitation Unit for the progressive worsening in balance and walking abilities (TUG: not evaluated; BERG: 5/56). At admission, neurological, neuropsychological, physiotherapeutic, occupational and speech assessments have been were performed. She was completely dependent on basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL:5/6; iADL: 4/8; Barthel Index: 60); moderate cognitive decline and depressive symptoms were observed. After 4 weeks of intensive motor-cognitive rehabilitation treatment, an improvement has been was observed in all the intervention areas leading to a global gain in autonomy (TUG: 1'50''; BERG: 10/56; Barthel Index: 70). This case report highlights the importance of tailored motor-cognitive rehabilitation and how these interventions can enhance patients'quality of life and their ability to cope with their symptoms. In conclusion, describing these cases contributes to a broader understanding of treatment options that clinicians could propose to patients.
Keywords: Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker, motor rehabilitation, Neuropsychology, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, case report
Received: 24 Mar 2025; Accepted: 17 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 De Laurenzis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Alessandro De Laurenzis, alessandro.delaurenzis@gmail.com
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