MOTOR SLOWING PRECEDES COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT IN THE OLDEST-OLD

Eighty-five healthy elderly subjects were prospectively evaluated for 3 years to determine motor differences between those who remain cognit ively intact and those who developed cognitive impairment during prosp ective follow-up. The 18 subjects who developed cognitive impairment h ad slower finger tapping and took longer to walk 30 feet before or at the time of cognitive impairment. Coordination was more impaired and s teps, but not balance, deteriorated more rapidly, independent of other variables.