Association between age at loss of ambulation and cardiac function in adults with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Cardiomyopathy is a common co-morbidity in individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). This retrospective single centre study investigated the relationship between age at loss of ambulation (LOA) and late stage left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in 84 individuals (> 16 years old) with DMD taking glucocorticoid and ACE inhibitors treatment. Regression analyses showed a positive correlation between later age at LOA and higher LVEF in adulthood (linear regression estimate 1.

Down syndrome or Rett syndrome in the family: Parental reflections on sibling experience.

Background: Siblings of children with intellectual disability have unique family experiences, varying by type of disability.

Methods: Parents of children with Down syndrome (156) or with Rett syndrome (149) completed questionnaires relating to sibling advantages and disadvantages, experiences of holidays and recreation, and perceived availability of parental time. Qualitative responses were analysed using thematic analysis.

Efficacy of heel lifts for insertional Achilles tendinopathy (LIFTIT): A randomised feasibility trial.

Objectives: Insertional Achilles tendinopathy is a common and disabling condition. This trial aimed to determine the feasibility of conducting a parallel group randomised trial to evaluate the efficacy of heel lifts compared to a sham intervention for reducing pain intensity associated with insertional Achilles tendinopathy.

Methods: Twenty-six people with insertional Achilles tendinopathy were randomised to either the heel lift group or sham intervention group.

LPS Increases Artery but Not Airway Contraction in Precision Cut Lung Slices from a Mouse Model of ARDS.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) results in decreased quality of life, including increased risk of pulmonary hypertension (PH). In animal models, ARDS can be induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which can disrupt the pulmonary endothelium and epithelium and induce inflammation. We tested whether administration or treatment with LPS alters the reactivity of intrapulmonary arteries and airways to constrictors relevant to both ARDS and PH, using the precision cut lung slice (PCLS) technique.

Precision Cut Lung Slices: Emerging Tools for Preclinical and Translational Lung Research. An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report.

The urgent need for effective treatments for acute and chronic lung diseases underscores the significance of developing innovative preclinical human research tools. The 2023 ATS Workshop on Precision Cut Lung Slices (PCLS) brought together 35 experts to discuss and address the role of human tissue-derived PCLS as a unique tool for target and drug discovery and validation in pulmonary medicine. With increasing interest and usage, along with advancements in methods and technology, there is a growing need for consensus on PCLS methodology and readouts.

Unpacking how trust, communication and flow interact to sustain quality relationships between disabled people, family and support workers: a realist qualitative study.

Purpose: Many disabled people require support workers to complete personal care, daily tasks and participate in life roles. Due to the intimate nature of community disability support in domestic environments, understanding what facilitates positive relationships is paramount. We examined the intricate interplay of context and mechanisms that drive positive relationship outcomes for disabled people, their family members and support workers.

The relationship between line manager training in mental health and organisational outcomes.

Background: Line manager (LM) training in mental health is gaining recognition as an effective method for improving the mental health and wellbeing of workers. However, research predominantly focuses on the impacts of training at the employee-level, often neglecting the broader organisational-level outcomes. Most studies derive insights from LMs using self-reported data, with very few studies examining impacts on organisational-level outcomes.

Line manager training and organizational approaches to supporting well-being.

Background: Employee mental health and well-being (MH&WB) is critical to the productivity and success of organizations. Training line managers (LMs) in mental health plays an important role in protecting and enhancing employee well-being, but its relationship with other MH&WB practices is under-researched.

Aims: To determine whether organizations offering LM training in mental health differ in the adoption of workplace- (i.

Disease-associated comorbidities, medication records and anthropometric measures in adults with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

We investigated the comorbidities, associated factors, and the relationship between anthropometric measures and respiratory function and functional abilities in adults with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). This was a single-centre cross-sectional study in genetically diagnosed adults with DMD (>16 years old). Univariate and multivariate analyses identified factors associated with dysphagia, constipation, Body Mass Index (BMI), and weight.

Intellectual disability and autism prevalence in Western Australia: impact of the NDIS.

Introduction: Estimates of the prevalence of intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may vary depending on the methodology, geographical location, and sources of ascertainment. The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia was introduced progressively from 2016 to provide individualized funding for eligible people with a significant and permanent disability.

Methods: Its recent inclusion as a source of ascertainment in the population-based Intellectual Disability Exploring Answers (IDEA) database in Western Australia has allowed comparisons of the prevalence of intellectual disability and ASD before and after its introduction.

Standardizing a method for functional assessment of neural networks in brain organoids.

During the last decade brain organoids have emerged as an attractive model system, allowing stem cells to be differentiated into complex 3D models, recapitulating many aspects of human brain development. Whilst many studies have analysed anatomical and cytoarchitectural characteristics of organoids, their functional characterisation has been limited, and highly variable between studies. Standardised, consistent methods for recording functional activity are critical to providing a functional understanding of neuronal networks at the synaptic and network level that can yield useful information about functional network phenotypes in disease and healthy states.

Efficacy of heel lifts for mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy (the LIFT trial): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy is a common condition, characterised by localised Achilles tendon load-related pain and dysfunction. Numerous non-surgical treatments have been proposed for the treatment of this condition, but many of these treatments have a poor or non-existent evidence base. Heel lifts have also been advocated as a treatment for Achilles tendinopathy, but the efficacy and mechanism of action of this intervention is unclear.

Typology of employers offering line manager training for mental health.

Background: Mental ill health has a high economic impact on society and employers. National and international policy advocates line manager (LM) training in mental health as a key intervention, but little is known about employer training provisions.

Aims: To explore the prevalence and characteristics of organizations that offer LM training in mental health.

Shining a light on the road towards conducting principle-based co-production research in rehabilitation.

Moving from participatory approaches incorporating co-design to co-production in health research involves a commitment to full engagement and partnership with people with lived experience through all stages of the research process-start to finish. However, despite the increased enthusiasm and proliferation of research that involves co-production, practice remains challenging, due in part to the lack of consensus on what constitutes co-production, a lack of guidance about the practical steps of applying this approach in respect to diverse research methods from multiple paradigms, and structural barriers within academia research landscape. To navigate the challenges in conducting co-produced research, it has been recommended that attention be paid to focusing and operationalising the underpinning principles and aspirations of co-production research, to aid translation into practice.

Understanding the Electrical Substrates Contributing to "Ablation-Resistant" Atrial Fibrillation?

Atrial fibrillation (AF) was largely ignored by cardiac electrophysiologists until it was first suggested in 1998 that it might be amenable to catheter ablation. In the 25 years since then, a vast body of knowledge has emerged, initially reporting the "hypes and hopes" that ablation was appropriate for all but more recently acknowledging that not all patients benefit from this approach. The AF "epidemic" and more holistic understanding of the complex contributors to its development question whether it is even meaningful to consider AF a single condition that is always responsive to ablation management.

Arrhythmias and cardiac MRI associations in patients with established cardiac dystrophinopathy.

Aims: Some patients with cardiac dystrophinopathy die suddenly. Whether such deaths are preventable by specific antiarrhythmic management or simply indicate heart failure overwhelming medical therapies is uncertain. The aim of this prospective, cohort study was to describe the occurrence and nature of cardiac arrhythmias recorded during prolonged continuous ECG rhythm surveillance in patients with established cardiac dystrophinopathy and relate them to abnormalities on cardiac MRI.

Functional abilities, respiratory and cardiac function in a large cohort of adults with Duchenne muscular dystrophy treated with glucocorticoids.

Background And Purpose: The transition to adult services, and subsequent glucocorticoid management, is critical in adults with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This study aims (1) to describe treatment, functional abilities, respiratory and cardiac status during transition to adulthood and adult stages; and (2) to explore the association between glucocorticoid treatment after loss of ambulation (LOA) and late-stage clinical outcomes.

Methods: This was a retrospective single-centre study on individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (≥16 years old) between 1986 and 2022.

Using the consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to integrate innovation recipients' perspectives into the implementation of a digital version of the spinal cord injury health maintenance tool: a qualitative analysis.

Background: Despite advances in managing secondary health complications after spinal cord injury (SCI), challenges remain in developing targeted community health strategies. In response, the SCI Health Maintenance Tool (SCI-HMT) was developed between 2018 and 2023 in NSW, Australia to support people with SCI and their general practitioners (GPs) to promote better community self-management. Successful implementation of innovations such as the SCI-HMT are determined by a range of contextual factors, including the perspectives of the innovation recipients for whom the innovation is intended to benefit, who are rarely included in the implementation process.

Co-design of the Spinal Cord Injury Health Maintenance Tool to Support Self-Management: A Mixed-Methods Approach.

Background: There is a lack of consumer-friendly tools to empower and support people living with spinal cord injury (SCI) to self-manage complex health needs in community. This article describes the co-design process of the new SCI Health Maintenance Tool (SCI-HMT).

Methods: Co-design of the SCI-HMT using a mixed-methods approach included a rapid review, e-Delphi surveys with range of multidisciplinary health care professionals ( = 62), interviews of participants with SCI ( = 18) and general practitioners ( = 4), focus groups ( = 3 with 7, 4, and 4 participants with SCI, respectively), design workshops with stakeholders ( = 11, 8), and end-user testing ( = 41).

Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback in Adults with a Spinal Cord Injury: A Laboratory Framework and Case Series.

Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV-F) is a neurocardiac self-regulation therapy that aims to regulate cardiac autonomic nervous system activity and improve cardiac balance. Despite benefits in various clinical populations, no study has reported the effects of HRV-F in adults with a spinal cord injury (SCI). This article provides an overview of a neuropsychophysiological laboratory framework and reports the impact of an HRV-F training program on two adults with chronic SCI (T1 AIS A and T3 AIS C) with different degrees of remaining cardiac autonomic function.