Examination of sensory reception and integration abilities in children with and without Prader-Willi syndrome.

Background: Good postural stability control is dependent upon the complex integration of incoming sensory information (visual, somatosensory, vestibular) with neuromotor responses that are constructed in advance of a voluntary action or in response to an unexpected perturbation.

Aims: To examine whether differences exist in how sensory inputs are used to control standing balance in children with and without Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS).

Methods And Procedures: In this cross-sectional study, 18 children with PWS and 51 children categorized as obese but without PWS (without PWS) ages 8-11 completed the Sensory Organization Test®.

Contributing factors to postural stability in Prader-Willi syndrome.

Background: Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder affecting multiple functional parameters. This study examined postural stability and associated gait and neuromuscular factors in young adults with PWS.

Methods: Participants included 10 adults with PWS [7 M/3F; Body Fat % 40.

Reliability and Fall-Risk Predictability of the Short Form of the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale in Iranian Older Adults.

Recently, a short form of the Fullerton Advanced Balance (SF-FAB) scale was reported as a good predictor of falls in older adults. However, we found no evidence regarding its reliability in non-American older adults. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the reliability and homogeneity of the SF-FAB scale to measure postural balance in Iranian older adults.

Improved Motor Proficiency and Quality of Life in Youth With Prader-Willi Syndrome and Obesity 6 Months After Completing a Parent-Led, Game-Based Intervention.

Purpose: To determine changes and potential differences in physical activity (PA), gross motor proficiency (MP), and health parameters after a 6-month follow-up (FU) period following participation in a parent-led PA intervention in youth with or without Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS).

Methods: About 42 youth with PWS and 65 youth without PWS but with obesity (body fat percentage >95th percentile for age and sex), aged 8-16 years, participated. The intervention included preplanned PA sessions containing playground and console-based video games scheduled 4 days per week for 24 weeks.

Effectiveness of a Parent-led Physical Activity Intervention in Youth with Obesity.

Purpose: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex, rare neurobehavioral syndrome characterized by excessive fat, hypotonia, poor motor skills, and behavioral and cognitive disabilities. We tested the effectiveness of a home-based physical activity (PA) intervention led by parents in youth with obesity with and without PWS to increase moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and gross motor proficiency.

Methods: Participants were 111 youth age 8 to 16 yr (45 with PWS and 66 without PWS, but categorized as obese).

The reliability and validity of the Turkish version of Fullerton Advanced Balance (FAB-T) scale.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the FAB(FAB-T) scale in the older Turkish adults.

Methods: The reliability and validity of the scale was tested on 200 community-dwelling older adults. FAB-T scale was scored by different physiotherapists on different days to evaluate inter-rater and intrarater reliability.

A Characterization of Movement Skills in Obese Children With and Without Prader-Willi Syndrome.

Purpose: The aim of this study was twofold: (a) to measure and compare motor proficiency in obese children with Prader-Willi syndrome (OB-PWS) to that in obese children without PWS (OB), and (b) to compare motor proficiency in OB-PWS and OB to normative data.

Method: Motor proficiency was measured using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-Second Edition-Complete Form, a norm-referenced assessment of motor function. Participants were 18 OB-PWS and 44 OB (8 to 11 years of age).

An evaluation of a nurse-led rehabilitation programme (the ProBalance Programme) to improve balance and reduce fall risk of community-dwelling older people: A randomised controlled trial.

Objective: This study aims to assess the effect of a nurse-led rehabilitation programme (the ProBalance Programme) on balance and fall risk of community-dwelling older people from Madeira Island, Portugal.

Design: Single-blind, randomised controlled trial.

Setting: University laboratory.

Recommendations for a core outcome set for measuring standing balance in adult populations: a consensus-based approach.

Background: Standing balance is imperative for mobility and avoiding falls. Use of an excessive number of standing balance measures has limited the synthesis of balance intervention data and hampered consistent clinical practice.

Objective: To develop recommendations for a core outcome set (COS) of standing balance measures for research and practice among adults.

Rationale and design of active play @ home: a parent-led physical activity program for children with and without disability.

Background: Compared to other children, those with disability have additional challenges to being physically active. Prader-Willi Syndrome is a genetic form of childhood obesity that is characterized by hypotonia, growth hormone deficiency, behavioral, and cognitive disability. In children, the low prevalence of this syndrome (1 in 10,000 to 15,000 live births) makes group-based physical activity interventions difficult.

Community fall prevention programs: comparing three InSTEP models by levels of intensity.

The Fall Prevention Center of Excellence designed three progressive-intensity fall prevention program models, Increasing Stability Through Evaluation and Practice (InSTEP), to reduce risk in community-dwelling older adults. Each model included physical activity, medical risk, and home safety components and was implemented as a 12-week program for small class sizes (12-15 people) in community and senior centers. Change in fall rates and fall risk factors was assessed using a battery of performance tests, self-reports of function, and fall diaries in a 3-group within-subjects (N = 200) design measured at baseline, immediately postintervention, and at 3 and 9 months postintervention.

Three routes to suppression of the neurodegenerative phenotypes caused by kinesin heavy chain mutations.

Kinesin-1 is a motor protein that moves stepwise along microtubules by employing dimerized kinesin heavy chain (Khc) subunits that alternate cycles of microtubule binding, conformational change, and ATP hydrolysis. Mutations in the Drosophila Khc gene are known to cause distal paralysis and lethality preceded by the occurrence of dystrophic axon terminals, reduced axonal transport, organelle-filled axonal swellings, and impaired action potential propagation. Mutations in the equivalent human gene, Kif5A, result in similar problems that cause hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) and Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2 (CMT2) distal neuropathies.

Fall experiences of persons with fibromyalgia over 6 months.

Aims: To describe circumstances and consequences of falls occurring among persons with fibromyalgia who had recent falls.

Background: Fibromyalgia is a common widespread pain condition that has been linked to increased fall-risk. No published research described experiences of falling in persons with fibromyalgia.

Rasch Analysis of the Fullerton Advanced Balance (FAB) Scale.

Purpose: This cross-sectional study explores the psychometric properties and dimensionality of the Fullerton Advanced Balance (FAB) Scale, a multi-item balance test for higher-functioning older adults.

Methods: Participants (n=480) were community-dwelling adults able to ambulate independently. Data gathering consisted of survey and balance performance assessment.

Reducing the risk of falls among older adults: the Fallproof Balance and Mobility Program.

Fall-related deaths among the older adult segment of the population constitute a growing public health concern that is largely preventable. A growing body of research has identified a number of effective intervention strategies that can lower the incidence of falls and/or risk factors that contribute to heightened fall risk. One particularly effective intervention strategy that has been identified is exercise, whether individually prescribed or conducted in group-based settings.

The role of exercise in fall prevention for older adults.

This article reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of stand-alone exercise interventions and multifactorial intervention strategies that include exercise in lowering fall incidence rates and/or fall risk among older adults residing in the community, acute, subacute, and long-term care settings. Stand-alone exercise programs that emphasize multiple exercise categories are effective in reducing fall rates and fall risk in community-residing older adults, and may also be effective when conducted for a sufficient duration with older adult patients in subacute settings. In contrast, multifactorial fall risk reduction programs that include exercise as a component and are delivered by a multidisciplinary team are more effective in lowering fall rates in long-term care settings.

Beetle horns are regulated by the Hox gene, Sex combs reduced, in a species- and sex-specific manner.

Discovering the mechanisms that underlie the origin of novel features represents a major frontier in developmental and evolutionary biology. Here we begin to characterize the role of the Hox gene Sex combs reduced (Scr) during the development and evolution of a morphologically novel trait: beetle horns. Beetle horns develop as epidermal outgrowths from the prothorax and/or head, and size and location vary dramatically across species and between sexes.

Do fall predictors in middle aged and older adults predict fall status in persons 50+ with fibromyalgia? An exploratory study.

We explored potential predictors of fall status in 70 community-dwelling persons > or =50 years of age with fibromyalgia (FM). Over 40% of the sample reported one or more falls in the year prior to the study. A logistic regression model using 10 variables known to predict falls in middle aged and older persons predicted 45% of the variance in fall status.

Differential recruitment of limb patterning genes during development and diversification of beetle horns.

The origins of novel complex phenotypes represent one of the most fundamental, yet largely unresolved, issues in evolutionary biology. Here we explore the developmental genetic regulation of beetle horns, a class of traits that lacks obvious homology to traits in other insects. Furthermore, beetle horns are remarkably diverse in their expression, including sexual dimorphisms, male dimorphisms, and interspecific differences in location of horn expression.

Preventing falls among older adults: no "one size suits all" intervention strategy.

Physical activity (exercise) serves primary, secondary, and tertiary roles in the prevention of falls among older adults. In its primary role, physical activity can prevent the onset of pathology and system impairments that lead to disability and increased risk for falls. Slowing the progression of disease and system impairments is its secondary role, while its tertiary role lies in the restoration of function to a level that allows for more autonomy in the performance of essential activities of daily living.

Predicting which older adults will or will not fall using the Fullerton Advanced Balance scale.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if the Fullerton Advanced Balance (FAB) scale can predict faller status in a group of independently functioning older adults.

Design: A cross-sectional design was used to establish the sensitivity and specificity of the FAB scale to predict faller status based on a retrospective self-reported fall history. For the purpose of this study, a faller was classified as an older adult with a history of 2 or more falls in the previous 12 months.

Building an infrastructure to prevent falls in older Californians: the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence.

The Fall Prevention Center of Excellence (Center), a consortium of federal, state, and private organizations, was established in 2005 to guide the implementation of a statewide initiative to prevent falls among older Californians. The process began with the convening of a representative group of recognized leaders in California's health and human services in 2003. This group engaged in a 2-day strategic planning process that culminated in the development of the California Blueprint for Fall Prevention.

Emerging model systems in evo-devo: horned beetles and the origins of diversity.

Horned beetles and beetle horns are emerging as a model system suited to address fundamental questions in evolutionary developmental biology. Here we briefly review the biology of horned beetles and highlight the unusual opportunities they provide for evo-devo research. We then summarize recent advances in the development of new approaches and techniques that are now available to scientists interested in working with these organisms.