Predicting SARS-CoV-2 infection duration at hospital admission:a deep learning solution.

COVID-19 cases are increasing around the globe with almost 5 million of deaths. We propose here a deep learning model capable of predicting the duration of the infection by means of information available at hospital admission. A total of 222 patients were enrolled in our observational study.

Survey of transfemoral amputee experience and priorities for the user-centered design of powered robotic transfemoral prostheses.

Background: Transfemoral amputees experience a complex host of physical, psychological, and social challenges, compounded by the functional limitations of current transfemoral prostheses. However, the specific relationships between human factors and prosthesis design and performance characteristics have not yet been adequately investigated. The present study aims to address this knowledge gap.

The methodology of a "living" COVID-19 registry development in a clinical context.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe an innovative methodology of a registry development, constantly updated for the scientific assessment and analysis of the health status of the population with COVID-19.

Study Design And Setting: A methodological study design to develop a multi-site, Living COVID-19 Registry of COVID-19 patients admitted in Fondazione Don Gnocchi centres started in March 2020.

Results: The integration of the living systematic reviews and focus group methodologies led to a development of a registry which includes 520 fields filled in for 748 COVID-19 patients recruited from 17 Fondazione Don Gnocchi centres.

Mortality and characteristics of older people dying with COVID-19 in Lombardy nursing homes, Italy: An observational cohort study.

Background: The aim of the study was to describe the epidemiological characteristics of Nursing Homes (NHs) residents infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and to compute the related case-fatality rate.

Materials And Methods: The outcomes were mortality and case-fatality rate with related epidemiological characteristics (age, sex, comorbidity, and frailty).

Results: During the COVID-19 outbreak lasted from March 1 to May 7, 2020, 330 residents died in Fondazione Don Gnocchi NHs bringing the mortality rate to 27% with a dramatic increase compared to the same period of 2019, when it was 7.

Connectivity Measures Differentiate Cortical and Subcortical Sub-Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients.

Brain lesions caused by cerebral ischemia lead to network disturbances in both hemispheres, causing a subsequent reorganization of functional connectivity both locally and remotely with respect to the injury. Quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) methods have long been used for exploring brain electrical activity and functional connectivity modifications after stroke. However, results obtained so far are not univocal.

Robot-mediated overground gait training for transfemoral amputees with a powered bilateral hip orthosis: a pilot study.

Background: Transfemoral amputation is a serious intervention that alters the locomotion pattern, leading to secondary disorders and reduced quality of life. The outcomes of current gait rehabilitation for TFAs seem to be highly dependent on factors such as the duration and intensity of the treatment and the age or etiology of the patient. Although the use of robotic assistance for prosthetic gait rehabilitation has been limited, robotic technologies have demonstrated positive rehabilitative effects for other mobility disorders and may thus offer a promising solution for the restoration of healthy gait in TFAs.

Robotic Rehabilitation and Multimodal Instrumented Assessment of Post-stroke Elbow Motor Functions-A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol.

The reliable assessment, attribution, and alleviation of upper-limb joint stiffness are essential clinical objectives in the early rehabilitation from stroke and other neurological disorders, to prevent the progression of neuromuscular pathology and enable proactive physiotherapy toward functional recovery. However, the current clinical evaluation and treatment of this stiffness (and underlying muscle spasticity) are severely limited by their dependence on subjective evaluation and manual limb mobilization, thus rendering the evaluation imprecise and the treatment insufficiently tailored to the specific pathologies and residual capabilities of individual patients. To address these needs, the proposed clinical trial will employ the NEUROExos Elbow Module (NEEM), an active robotic exoskeleton, for the passive mobilization and active training of elbow flexion and extension in 60 sub-acute and chronic stroke patients with motor impairments (hemiparesis and/or spasticity) of the right arm.

Predictive value of electroencephalography connectivity measures for motor training outcome in multiple sclerosis: an observational longitudinal study.

Background: Neurophysiological investigations represent powerful tools to shed light on brain plasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

Aim: We investigated the relationship between electroencephalography (EEG)-based connectivity, the extent of brain lesions and changes in motor performance after an intensive task-oriented circuit training (TOCT).

Design: Observational longitudinal study.

Caregiver burden and family functioning in different neurological diseases.

Aim of this study is to examine caregiver burden and family functioning in different neurological conditions. Forty-two primary caregivers of patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's Disease and other dementia (AD), Parkinson's Disease (PD), Acquired Brain Injuries (ABI) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) were administered scales for the evaluation of caregiver burden (CBI) and family functioning (FACES IV). Caregiver burden was overall high, with caregivers of patients with ALS and ABI having exceeded the CBI cut-off score for possible burn-out.

Delta Power Is Higher and More Symmetrical in Ischemic Stroke Patients with Cortical Involvement.

A brain injury resulting from unilateral stroke critically alters brain functionality and the complex balance within the cortical activity. Such modifications may critically depend on lesion location and cortical involvement. Indeed, recent findings pointed out the necessity of applying a stratification based on lesion location when investigating inter-hemispheric balance in stroke.

Unidirectional brain to muscle connectivity reveals motor cortex control of leg muscles during stereotyped walking.

Unlabelled: In lower mammals, locomotion seems to be mainly regulated by subcortical and spinal networks. On the contrary, recent evidence suggests that in humans the motor cortex is also significantly engaged during complex locomotion tasks. However, a detailed understanding of cortical contribution to locomotion is still lacking especially during stereotyped activities.

Using Brain Oscillations and Corticospinal Excitability to Understand and Predict Post-Stroke Motor Function.

What determines motor recovery in stroke is still unknown and finding markers that could predict and improve stroke recovery is a challenge. In this study, we aimed at understanding the neural mechanisms of motor function recovery after stroke using neurophysiological markers by means of cortical excitability (transcranial magnetic stimulation-TMS) and brain oscillations (electroencephalography-EEG). In this cross-sectional study, 55 subjects with chronic stroke (62 ± 14 yo, 17 women, 32 ± 42 months post-stroke) were recruited in two sites.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Cortical Responses Induced by a Prolonged Tactile Stimulation of the Human Fingertips.

The sense of touch is fundamental for daily behavior. The aim of this work is to understand the neural network responsible for touch processing during a prolonged tactile stimulation, delivered by means of a mechatronic platform by passively sliding a ridged surface under the subject's fingertip while recording the electroencephalogram (EEG). We then analyzed: (i) the temporal features of the Somatosensory Evoked Potentials and their topographical distribution bilaterally across the cortex; (ii) the associated temporal modulation of the EEG frequency bands.

Neurophysiological Characterization of Subacute Stroke Patients: A Longitudinal Study.

Various degrees of neural reorganization may occur in affected and unaffected hemispheres in the early phase after stroke and several months later. Recent literature suggests to apply a stratification based on lesion location and to consider patients with cortico-subcortical and subcortical strokes separately: different lesion location may also influence therapeutic response. In this study we used a longitudinal approach to perform TMS assessment (Motor Evoked Potentials, MEP, and Silent Period, SP) and clinical evaluations (Barthel Index, Fugl-Meyer Assessment for upper limb motor function and Wolf Motor Function Test) in 10 cortical-subcortical and 10 subcortical ischemic stroke patients.

The role of psychological well‑being in multiple sclerosis rehabilitation.

Background: In patients affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) the disabilities increase during the progression of the disease, with a negative impact on quality of life. Rehabilitation improves motor performances, but remains unclear the role of psychological variables on motor recovery.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the psychological well‑being during a rehabilitation care in MS patients with moderate to severe disability.

The effects of robot-assisted gait training in progressive multiple sclerosis: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Gait and mobility impairments are common in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), leading to reduced quality of life (QoL).

Objective: In this randomized controlled study, we tested the effects of robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) and compared it to conventional physiotherapy, measuring walking ability, depression, fatigue, and QoL in patients with progressive MS and severe gait disability.

Methods: Fifty-two participants (Expanded Disability Status Scale score 6-7) completed the study protocol.

Quantitative assessment of early biomechanical modifications in diabetic foot patients: the role of foot kinematics and step width.

Background: Forefoot ulcers (FU) are one of the most disabling and relevant chronic complications of diabetes mellitus (DM). In recent years there is emerging awareness that a better understanding of the biomechanical factors underlying the diabetic ulcer could lead to improve the management of the disease, with significant socio-economic impacts. Our purpose was to try to detect early biomechanical factors associated with disease progression.

Clinical evidences of brain plasticity in stroke patients.

Emerging findings deriving from neuromodulation and neuroradiology are providing us new insights about plas- ticity and functional reorganization of the brain after stroke, but the direct clinical assessment of motor function should still be considered an indispensable tool for the evaluation of the effects of plasticity in stroke patients. Recovery of motor function can be spontaneous or guided by training. Substantial functional recovery can occur spontaneously especially in the first month post-stroke.

NIBS-driven brain plasticity.

Through plasticity the brain is able to change its function and to rearrange following injury or environmental changes. In recent years, it was shown that non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques, especially transcra- nial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can contribute to understand how these plastic changes occur. Additionally, the literature suggests that TMS and tDCS may be used as interven- tional strategies to improve neurorehabilitation efforts and arguably recovery of motor function after brain lesions.

Functional status and quality of life of stroke survivors undergoing rehabilitation programmes in a hospital setting.

Background: While the positive effects of rehabilitation on physical functioning are well documented in stroke literature, more controversial results arise from the evaluation of the impact on quality of life.

Objective: The aim of the present study is to examine the associations among functional status and different measures of quality of life in a sample of inpatients undergoing rehabilitation programmes, and to consider the role of psychological distress, coping strategies and social support.

Methods: Twenty-nine stroke survivors were evaluated at the admission to a hospital-based Rehabilitation Unit and just before discharge.

Balancing between autonomy and support: coping strategies by patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) makes a strong psychological impact, and the study of efforts by patients to cope with the course of the disease could be an important first step in the optimisation of care treatment. With this aim, in our study we assessed the coping strategies by a population of ALS patients, according to some clinical parameters and the worsening of the disease. We have administered the MND coping scale to 62 patients, firstly at the admission to our neurorehabilitation unit and secondly after 1year.