Age-gender differences in the reaction times of ankle muscles.

Aim: Reaction times of the hip abductor were reported to be longer in elderly women than in elderly men, and this was suggested to be related to mediolateral balance performance. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of age and gender on the reaction performance of ankle muscles, which have predominant roles in anterioposterior balance control.

Methods: A total of 40 elderly subjects and 40 young subjects (even number of men and women) carried out a series of isometric plantarflexions and dorsiflexions, as forcefully and quickly as possible, in response to auditory stimulus.

Predictability of motor outcome according to the time of diffusion tensor imaging in patients with cerebral infarct.

Introduction: Predictability of diffusion tensor imaging tractography (DTT) for motor outcome can differ according to the time of DTT. We attempted to compare the predictability for motor outcome according to the time of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) by analyzing the corticospinal tract (CST) integrity on DTT in patients with corona radiata (CR) infarct.

Methods: Seventy-one consecutive hemiparetic patients with CR infarct were recruited.

The effect of a stretching device on hand spasticity in chronic hemiparetic stroke patients.

We attempted to evaluate the effect of a stretching device for treatment of hand spasticity in chronic stroke patients. We recruited 21 chronic hemiplegic stroke patients with severe finger flexor spasticity and randomly assigned them to the intervention group (10 patients) and control group (11 patients). The stretching device consisted of a resting hand splint, finger stretcher, and frame.

Quantification of bradykinesia during clinical finger taps using a gyrosensor in patients with Parkinson's disease.

This study aims to develop a quantitative measure of bradykinesia which can be conveniently used during clinical finger taps test in patients with Parkinson's disease. A miniature, light-weight gyrosensor free from gravitational artifact was used for measurement of finger taps in order to impose minimal constraint on patients. Forty Parkinson's disease patients and 14 age-matched control subjects participated in the experiments.

Sex differences in the postural sway characteristics of young and elderly subjects during quiet natural standing.

Aim: It has been reported that the fall incidence in women is much higher than men and that fallers have worse postural balance performance than non-fallers. However, it is controversial whether any sex difference in postural balance performance exists. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sex and age and their interactions in balance performance during quiet standing with natural stance width.