High-frequency epidural electrical stimulation reduces spasticity and facilitates walking recovery in patients with spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes severe motor and sensory deficits, and there are currently no approved treatments for recovery. Nearly 70% of patients with SCI experience pathological muscle cocontraction and spasticity, accompanied by clinical signs such as patellar hyperreflexia and ankle clonus. The integration of epidural electrical stimulation (EES) of the spinal cord with rehabilitation has substantial potential to improve recovery of motor functions; however, abnormal muscle cocontraction and spasticity may limit the benefit of these interventions and hinder the effectiveness of EES in promoting functional movements.

Sensory-motor training with virtual reality as a complementary intervention to manual therapy for persistent non-specific neck pain: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Persistent non-specific neck pain (NP) is a widespread condition described as a complex biopsychosocial disorder, characterized by physical and psychological symptoms. Virtual reality (VR) shows promise in NP treatment, potentially reducing pain, kinesiophobia, and improving range of motion (ROM) and motor control.

Aim: The primary aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of VR sensorimotor training, combined with manual therapy, in reducing the level of disability in persistent non-specific NP individuals.

Increased interhemispheric functional connectivity after right anodal tDCS in chronic non-fluent aphasia: preliminary findings.

Introduction: Anodal transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive, low-cost and environment-friendly brain neuromodulation technique that increases cortical excitability. In post-stroke aphasia, the role of the right hemisphere in language recovery remains debated. In this preliminary study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of excitatory tDCS on the right hemisphere in chronic aphasic patients.

On the brain struggles to recognize basic facial emotions with face masks: an fMRI study.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted public health and our lifestyles, leading to new social adaptations such as quarantine, social distancing, and facial masks. Face masks, covering extended facial zones, hamper our ability to extract relevant socio-emotional information from others' faces. In this fMRI study, we investigated how face masks interfere with facial emotion recognition, focusing on brain responses and connectivity patterns as a function of the presence of a face mask.

Cervical motion alterations and brain functional connectivity in cervical dystonia.

Introduction: Evaluating the neural correlates of sensorimotor control deficits in cervical dystonia (CD) is fundamental to plan the best treatment. This study aims to assess kinematic and resting-state functional connectivity (RS-FC) characteristics in CD patients relative to healthy controls.

Methods: Seventeen CD patients and 14 age-/sex-matched healthy controls were recruited.

Continuity of care for patients with dementia during COVID-19 pandemic: flexibility and integration between in-person and remote visits.

Introduction: During the pandemic, the Cognitive Disorders Unit of San Raffaele Hospital (Milan, Italy) offered patients the opportunity to undergo neuropsychological evaluations and cognitive training through telemedicine.

Method: We conducted an investigation to assess how patients responded to this option and to determine if telemedicine could ensure continuity of care.

Results: Between October 2019 and May 2022, a total of 5,768 telemedicine appointments and 8,190 in-person outpatient appointments were conducted, resulting in an increase in the rate of telemedicine activity from 16.

Prenatal diagnosis and postnatal outcome of fetal congenital knee dislocation: systematic review of literature.

Objectives: Congenital knee dislocation (CKD) is a rare condition, affecting 1 in 100 000 newborns. Its prenatal diagnosis is challenging and not well described in the literature, especially when it appears isolated and not as part of a complex malformation or syndromic pattern. The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive review of the available literature on the prenatal diagnosis and postnatal outcome of CKD and to summarize the current evidence on this topic.

Longitudinal brain functional connectivity changes induced by neurosurgical thalamotomy for tremor in Parkinson's disease: a preliminary study.

The hypothesis that the effectiveness of neurosurgical procedures in Parkinson's disease (PD) would be related to connectivity dysfunctions between the site of the stimulation and other brain regions is growing. This study aimed to assess resting-state functional connectivity between thalamic ventral intermediate nucleus (Vim) and the rest of the brain before and after thalamotomy in PD. A 76-year-old right-handed woman with refractory tremor-dominant PD was selected as a candidate for left Vim radiosurgery thalamotomy.

Mobile application tool for remote rehabilitation after discharge from coronavirus disease-19 rehabilitation unit.

A smartphone application (Medico-Amico) has been developed by the collaboration of San Raffaele Scientific Institute and Khymeia Group S.R.L.

Virtual Reality Augmented Feedback Rehabilitation Associated to Action Observation Therapy in Buccofacial Apraxia: Case Report.

Background: Buccofacial Apraxia is defined as the inability to perform voluntary movements of the larynx, pharynx, mandible, tongue, lips and cheeks, while automatic or reflexive control of these structures is preserved. Buccofacial Apraxia frequently co-occurs with aphasia and apraxia of speech and it has been reported as almost exclusively resulting from a lesion of the left hemisphere. Recent studies have demonstrated the benefit of treating apraxia using motor training principles such as Augmented Feedback or Action Observation Therapy.

Efficacy of virtual reality to reduce chronic low back pain: Proof-of-concept of a non-pharmacological approach on pain, quality of life, neuropsychological and functional outcome.

Objectives: Chronic pain, such as low-back pain, can be a highly disabling condition degrading people's quality of life (QoL). Not every patient responds to pharmacological therapies, thus alternative treatments have to be developed. The chronicity of pain can lead to a somatic dysperception, meaning a mismatch between patients' own body perception and its actual physical state.