Neurologic aspects and falls

Falls are widely recognized as a social problem due to the related economic burden on public health budgets. Following the growing body of evidences on the physiopathology of postural control in humans, many factors leading to falls are already well established in the literature. Given the high prevalence of falls among elderly people, the present review focuses on parkinsonism and those "mild parkinsonian signs" frequently presented by elderly subjects. Parkinsonism is a good paradigm for the understanding of the pathophysiology of falling. Specifically, parkinsonian patients display specific features related to falls, such as axial motor symptoms, the impairment of executive functions and of the interplay between motion and cognition, as revealed by the disruption of automaticity.