Design and Validation of a Tripping-Eliciting Platform Based on Compliant Random Obstacles.

The experimental study of the stumble phenomena is essential to develop novel technological solutions to limit harmful effects in at-risk populations. A versatile platform to deliver realistic and unanticipated tripping perturbations, controllable in their strength and timing, would be beneficial for this field of study. We built a modular tripping-eliciting system based on multiple compliant trip blocks that deliver unanticipated tripping perturbations.

Multiple imputation integrated to machine learning: predicting post-stroke recovery of ambulation after intensive inpatient rehabilitation.

Good data quality is vital for personalising plans in rehabilitation. Machine learning (ML) improves prognostics but integrating it with Multiple Imputation (MImp) for dealing missingness is an unexplored field. This work aims to provide post-stroke ambulation prognosis, integrating MImp with ML, and identify the prognostic influential factors.

Stroke-related epilepsy in the rehabilitation setting: Insights from the inpatient post-stroke rehabilitation study - RIPS.

In stroke survivors, persistent seizure activity could be associated with poor functional outcomes. At the same time, antiepileptic over-treatment could hamper post-stroke recovery. We systematically investigated the occurrence of seizures, the prevalence of epileptic discharges, and delta slow waves on electroencephalogram (EEG) and anti-seizure medication (ASM) management in relation to clinical manifestations and EEG abnormalities.

Early predictors of long-term participation in patients with severe acquired traumatic injury discharged from Intensive Rehabilitation Unit.

Background: Participation represents the most relevant indicator of successful functioning after a severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI), since it correlates with a higher perceived quality of life by patients, their families, and healthcare professionals. Nevertheless, studies on Italian population are lacking.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term participation and its early predictors in patients after a sTBI.

Implications of the Consciousness State on Decannulation in Patients With a Prolonged Disorder of Consciousness.

Objective: To prospectively investigate the evolution of the consciousness state and the cannula-weaning progression in patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness.

Design: Nonconcurrent cohort study.

Setting: A rehabilitation unit.

Improving Walking Energy Efficiency in Transtibial Amputees Through the Integration of a Low-Power Actuator in an ESAR Foot.

Reducing energy consumption during walking is a critical goal for transtibial amputees. The study presents the evaluation of a semi-active prosthesis with five transtibial amputees. The prosthesis has a low-power actuator integrated in parallel into an energy-storing-and-releasing foot.

Quantitative EEG and prognosis for recovery in post-stroke patients: The effect of lesion laterality.

Objective: There is emerging confidence that quantitative EEG (qEEG) has the potential to inform clinical decision-making and guide individualized rehabilitation after stroke, but consensus on the best EEG biomarkers is needed for translation to clinical practice. This study investigates the spatial qEEG spectral and symmetry distribution in patients with a left/right hemispheric stroke, to evaluate their side-specific prognostic power in post-acute rehabilitation outcome.

Methods: Resting-state 19-channel EEG recordings were collected with clinical information on admission to intensive inpatient rehabilitation (within 30 days post stroke), and six months post stroke.

Comparing the effects of augmented virtual reality treadmill training versus conventional treadmill training in patients with stage II-III Parkinson's disease: the VIRTREAD-PD randomized controlled trial protocol.

Background: Intensive treadmill training (TT) has been documented to improve gait parameters and functional independence in Parkinson's Disease (PD), but the optimal intervention protocol and the criteria for tailoring the intervention to patients' performances are lacking. TT may be integrated with augmented virtual reality (AVR), however, evidence of the effectiveness of this combined treatment is still limited. Moreover, prognostic biomarkers of rehabilitation, potentially useful to customize the treatment, are currently missing.

Predicting the functional outcome of intensive inpatient rehabilitation after stroke: results from the RIPS Study.

Background: The complexity of stroke sequelae, the heterogeneity of outcome measures and rehabilitation pathways, and the lack of extensively validated prediction models represent a challenge in predicting stroke rehabilitation outcomes.

Aim: To prospectively investigate a multidimensional set of variables collected at admission to inpatient post-stroke rehabilitation as potential predictors of the functional level at discharge.

Design: Multicentric prospective observational study.

Depressive Symptoms Moderate the Association Between Functional Level at Admission to Intensive Post-Stroke Rehabilitation and Effectiveness of the Intervention.

Introduction: Previous studies showed that depression acts as an independent factor in functional recovery after stroke. In a prospective cohort of patients admitted to intensive inpatient rehabilitation after a stroke, we aimed to test depression as a moderator of the relationship between the functional level at admission and the effectiveness of rehabilitation at discharge.

Methods: All patients admitted to within 30 days from an ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke to 4 intensive rehabilitation units were prospectively screened for eligibility to a multicenter prospective observational study.

Understanding the interplay between APO E polymorphism and cognition in the Italian oldest old: results from the "Mugello study".

Introduction: Recent data suggest that the deleterious effect on general health and cognition of ε4 allele of Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) observed in the elderly population, may attenuate in extreme aging. This study aimed to describe the ApoE genotype distribution and its relationship with cognition in a group of nonagenarians living in the Mugello area, Italy.

Material And Methods: Cognition was evaluated using the Mini-Mental-State-Examination (MMSE).

Trunk Control Test as a Main Predictor of the Modified Barthel Index Score at Discharge From Intensive Post-acute Stroke Rehabilitation: Results From a Multicenter Italian Study.

Objectives: To verify whether trunk control test (TCT) upon admission to intensive inpatient post-stroke rehabilitation, combined with other confounding variables, is independently associated with discharge mBI.

Design: Multicentric retrospective observational cohort study.

Setting: Two Italian inpatient rehabilitation units.

Relationship between Nutritional Risk, Clinical and Demographic Characteristics, and Pressure Ulcers in Patients with Severe Acquired Brain Injuries Attending a Rehabilitative Program.

Preliminary evidence in the literature suggests a high prevalence of malnutrition (undernutrition) in patients with severe acquired brain injuries (sABI), with an expected negative impact on clinical outcomes and pressure ulcers (PUs) in particular. In a retrospective cohort study on patients discharged from intensive care units (ICU) and admitted to an intensive rehabilitation unit (IRU), the risk of malnutrition was systematically assessed, in addition to standard clinical procedures (including PUs evaluation), using two different tools: the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) and the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) tool. Eighty-eight patients were included in the analysis.

Heart rate variability for the evaluation of patients with disorders of consciousness.

Objective: Clinical responsiveness of patients with a Disorder of Consciousness (DoC) correlates to sympathetic/parasympathetic homeostatic balance. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) metrics result in non-invasive proxies of modulation capabilities of visceral states. In this work, our aim was to evaluate whether HRV measures could improve the differential diagnosis between Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome (UWS) and Minimally Conscious State (MCS) with respect to multivariate models based on standard clinical electroencephalography (EEG) labeling only in a rehabilitation setting.

Sleep profile in a population of community-dwelling nonagenarians: data from the Mugello study.

Background: Very few studies have investigated sleep characteristics in the oldest-old individuals (aged ≥85 years) and data collected often rely on self-reported information. This study had three aims: (i) to objectively assess, using a wearable device, the sleep characteristics of a large community of oldest-old subjects; (ii) to assess differences in sleep parameters between self-reported 'good sleepers' and 'bad sleepers'; (iii) to assess whether there was a relationship between sleep parameters and cognitive status in this community-dwelling population.

Methods: There were 178 subjects (74.

Can Respiration Complexity Help the Diagnosis of Disorders of Consciousness in Rehabilitation?

Background: Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) activity, as cardiac, respiratory and electrodermal activity, has been shown to provide specific information on different consciousness states. Respiration rates (RRs) are considered indicators of ANS activity and breathing patterns are currently already included in the evaluation of patients in critical care.

Objective: The aim of this work was to derive a proxy of autonomic functions via the RR variability and compare its diagnostic capability with known neurophysiological biomarkers of consciousness.

Correlates of participation six months after stroke in an Italian population: results from the RIPS (Post-Stroke Intensive Rehabilitation) Study.

Background: Stroke survivors report physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments, with a consequent limitation of participation. Participation is the most context-related dimension of functioning, but the literature on participation in Italian stroke patients is scant.

Aim: This study aimed to describe the recovery of participation six months after stroke with a validated Italian version of the Frenchay Activity Index (FAI) and to investigate potential correlates with higher participation scores.

Cognitive Profile in Patients Admitted to Intensive Rehabilitation after Stroke Is Associated with the Recovery of Dysphagia: Preliminary Results from the RIPS (Intensive Post-Stroke Rehabilitation) Study.

Dysphagia represents one of the most frequent symptoms in the post-acute stroke population. Swallowing impairment and cognitive deficits can often co-occur. This study aims to investigate the relationship between cognitive impairment and the recovery of dysphagia in patients attending specific rehabilitation.

Extra-Linguistic Cognitive Functions Involved in the Token Test: Results from a Cohort of Non-Aphasic Stroke Patients with Right Hemisphere Lesion.

Background: The Token Test (TT) is widely used to examine comprehension disorders in aphasic patients, but abilities other than language may affect a patient's performance. This study aims to explore the correlation between the TT subtest performances and the performances in extra-linguistic cognitive areas in a cohort of patients from the Intensive Rehabilitation Post-Stroke (RIPS) study with a first, right hemisphere stroke and without aphasia, prospectively enrolled at admission to intensive inpatient post-acute rehabilitation.

Methods: The patients were administered the TT (50-item version), the forward and backward digit span (DST), and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).

EEG-based methods for recovery prognosis of patients with disorders of consciousness: A systematic review.

Objective: Disorders of consciousness (DoC) are acquired conditions of severely altered consciousness. Electroencephalography (EEG)-derived biomarkers have been studied as clinical predictors of consciousness recovery. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically review the methods, features, and models used to derive prognostic EEG markers in patients with DoC in a rehabilitation setting.

Design and implementation of a Stroke Rehabilitation Registry for the systematic assessment of processes and outcomes and the development of data-driven prediction models: The STRATEGY study protocol.

Background: Stroke represents the second preventable cause of death after cardiovascular disease and the third global cause of disability. In countries where national registries of the clinical quality of stroke care have been established, the publication and sharing of the collected data have led to an improvement in the quality of care and survival of patients. However, information on rehabilitation processes and outcomes is often lacking, and predictors of functional outcomes remain poorly explored.

The Impact of Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy on Functional Outcome of Patients Affected by Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage Discharged from Intensive Inpatient Rehabilitation: A Cohort Study.

Background: Sporadic CAA is recognized as a major cause of sICH and sABI. Even if intensive rehabilitation is recommended to maximize functional recovery after sICH, no data are available on whether CAA may affect rehabilitation outcomes. In this observational prospective study, to explore the impact of CAA on rehabilitation results, functional outcomes after intensive rehabilitation have been compared between patients affected by sICH with and without a diagnosis of CAA.

Cross-validation of predictive models for functional recovery after post-stroke rehabilitation.

Background: Rehabilitation treatments and services are essential for the recovery of post-stroke patients' functions; however, the increasing number of available therapies and the lack of consensus among outcome measures compromises the possibility to determine an appropriate level of evidence. Machine learning techniques for prognostic applications offer accurate and interpretable predictions, supporting the clinical decision for personalised treatment. The aim of this study is to develop and cross-validate predictive models for the functional prognosis of patients, highlighting the contributions of each predictor.

Intra- and inter-rater reliability of the Italian Fugl-Meyer assessment of upper and lower extremity.

Purpose: To assess the intra- and inter-rater reliability motor and sensory functioning, balance, joint range of motion and joint pain subscales of the Italian Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) and Lower Extremity (FMA-LE) at the item- subtotal- and total-level in patients with sub-acute stroke.

Materials And Methods: The FMA was administered to 60 patients with sub-acute stroke (mean age ± SD = 75.4 ± 10.