Lidocaine Nerve Block Diminishes the Effects of Therapeutic Electrical Stimulation to Enhance Nerve Regeneration in Rats.

Background: Although electrical stimulation (ES) can improve nerve regeneration, the impact of nerve block, such as lidocaine (Lido), on the therapeutic benefits of ES remains unclear. We used a rat tibial nerve transection-and-repair model to explore how either preoperative (PreOp) or postoperative (PostOp) nerve block affects ES-related improvement in regeneration.

Methods: Lewis rats were used in 1 of 2 studies.

Lower extremity long-latency reflexes differentiate walking function after stroke.

The neural mechanisms of walking impairment after stroke are not well characterized. Specifically, there is a need for understanding the mechanisms of impaired plantarflexor power generation in late stance. Here, we investigated the association between two neurophysiologic markers, the long-latency reflex (LLR) response and dynamic facilitation of antagonist motor-evoked responses, and walking function.

Locomotor adaptations to prolonged step-by-step frontal plane trunk perturbations in young adults.

The purpose of this study was to quantify the magnitude and time course of dynamic balance control adaptations to prolonged step-by-step frontal plane forces applied to the trunk during walking. Healthy young participants (n = 10, 5 female) walked on an instrumented split-belt treadmill while an external cable-driven device applied frontal plane forces to the trunk. Two types of forces were applied: 1) forces which accentuated COM movement in the frontal plane (destabilizing) and 2) forces which resisted COM movement in the frontal plane (stabilizing).

Influence of visual feedback on dynamic balance control in chronic stroke survivors.

Chronic stroke survivors have an increased incidence of falls during walking, suggesting changes in dynamic balance control post-stroke. Despite this increased incidence of falls during walking, balance control is often studied only in standing. The purpose of this study was to quantify deficits in dynamic balance control during walking, and to evaluate the influence of visual feedback on this control in stroke survivors.

The stroke-related effects of hip flexion fatigue on over ground walking.

Individuals post stroke often rely more on hip flexors for limb advancement during walking due to distal weakness but the effects of muscle fatigue in this group is not known. The purpose of this study was to quantify how stroke affects the influence of hip flexor fatigue on over ground walking kinematics and performance and muscle activation. Ten individuals with chronic stroke and 10 without stroke (controls) participated in the study.

Sensory electrical stimulation improves foot placement during targeted stepping post-stroke.

Proper foot placement is vital for maintaining balance during walking, requiring the integration of multiple sensory signals with motor commands. Disruption of brain structures post-stroke likely alters the processing of sensory information by motor centers, interfering with precision control of foot placement and walking function for stroke survivors. In this study, we examined whether somatosensory stimulation, which improves functional movements of the paretic hand, could be used to improve foot placement of the paretic limb.

Two foci of FDG-avid secondary tumoral calcinosis incidentally noted in a patient with small-cell lung carcinoma after PET/CT.

This case report describes intense F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake within two foci of secondary tumoral calcinosis, incidentally noted during the workup of small-cell lung cancer. The patient had insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and secondary hyperparathyroidism as a result of IgA nephropathy.