The Mini-BESTest is an independent predictor of falls in Parkinson Disease.

Background: Falls in Parkinson Disease (PD) are a complex health problem, with multidimensional causes and consequences.

Objectives: To identify the fall predictors in individuals with PD and compare fallers and non-fallers considering their socio-demographic, anthropometric, clinical and functional status.

Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional design was employed.

Determinants of the use of physiotherapy services among individuals with Parkinson's disease living in Brazil.

Objectives: To identify the factors affecting the use of physiotherapy services among individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) living in Brazil.

Methods: Overall, 479 individuals with idiopathic PD, of both sexes, at any stage of the Hoehn & Yahr (HY) scale, and from seven capital cities in Brazil were recruited from 2014 to 2016. Multivariate logistic regression was the main statistical tool.

Energy expenditure and cost of walking and stair climbing in individuals with chronic stroke.

Background: Subjects with stroke show higher energy cost (EC) during walking, when compared to healthy individuals, but the mechanisms are not fully understood. Additionally, the behavior of physiological variables during other activities has not been investigated.

Objectives: To investigate energy expenditure (EE) and EC during the six-minute walking test (6MWT) and stair climb test (SCT) in chronic stroke subjects compared to healthy controls.

Trunk kinematics related to generation and transfer of the trunk flexor momentum are associated with sit-to-stand performance in chronic stroke survivors.

Background: Stroke subjects show poorer sit-to-stand (STS) performance when compared to matched-healthy subjects, but it is still unclear the trunk role in this poorer performance.

Objectives: To compare the trunk kinematics related to the generation/transfer of the flexor momentum during the STS task between stroke and matched-healthy subjects, and to investigate if there were relationships between these variables and STS performance.

Methods: Eighteen chronic stroke survivors and 18 matched-healthy subjects were assessed.

Work and power reduced in L-dopa naïve patients in the early-stages of Parkinson's disease.

Unlabelled: Studies which have investigated muscular performance during the initial stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) without L-dopa treatments were not found.

Objective: to assess whether muscular performance, work and power, of the trunk and lower limbs in L-dopa naïve patients in the early stages of PD was lower than those of healthy subjects and to compare muscular performance between the lower limbs.

Method: Ten subjects with PD, Hoehn and Yahr (HY) I-II, L-dopa naïve and 10 subjects in the control group were assessed with the isokinetic dynamometer.

Main determinants of physical activity levels in individuals with Parkinson's disease.

This study analyzed the relationship between patient characteristics, factors associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), and physical activity level of individuals affected by the disease. Forty-six volunteers with mild-to-moderate idiopathic PD were assessed using sections II/III of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale and their motor functions were classified according to the modified Hoehn and Yahr (HY) scale. Data such as age, disease duration, the Human Activity Profile (HAP), the Fatigue Severity Scale were collected.

Cross-cultural adaptation and analysis of the psychometric properties of the Balance Evaluation Systems Test and MiniBESTest in the elderly and individuals with Parkinson's disease: application of the Rasch model.

Background: Older adults and individuals with neurological problems such as Parkinson's disease (PD) exhibit balance deficits that might impair their mobility and independence. The assessment of balance must be useful in identifying the presence of instability and orient interventions.

Objective: To translate and perform a cross-cultural adaptation of the Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest) and MiniBESTest to Brazilian Portuguese and analyze its psychometric properties.

Recruitment rate, feasibility and safety of power training in individuals with Parkinson's disease: a proof-of-concept study.

Background: It has been suggested that power training should be implemented in interventions in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, it is necessary to determine the feasibility and safety of training rapid movements in such individuals.

Objectives: To determine the rate of recruitment of potential participants, the rate of attendance at training sessions, the levels of adherence to the intervention, and the rate of adverse events.

Progressive resistance exercise improves strength and physical performance in people with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease: a systematic review.

Question: Does progressive resistance exercise improve strength and measures of physical performance in people with Parkinson's disease?

Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis of randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials.

Participants: People with Parkinson's disease, regardless of gender or level of disability.

Intervention: Progressive resistance exercise, defined as involving repetitive, strong, or effortful muscle contractions and progression of load as the participant's abilities changed.

Lower limb muscle activation during the sit-to-stand task in subjects who have had a stroke.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare electromyographic activities between and within the paretic and nonparetic lower limb muscles during the sit-to-stand (STS) task in subjects with hemiparesis as a result of stroke.

Design: This is a cross-sectional study.

Results: All monitored muscles of both lower limbs remained active during most of the sit-to-stand task; the muscles were activated before the seat-off and reached the maximum peak of electromyographic activity after the seat-off (P < 0.

Do clinical scales of balance reflect turning abnormalities in people with Parkinson's disease?

Background And Purpose: It is well known that people with Parkinson's disease (PD) have significant difficulty turning, and that such difficulty is related to freezing episodes and falls. However, it is unclear how clinicians should evaluate turning. The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine whether the common clinical assessment instruments reflect turning deficits in persons with PD compared with an instrumented measure.

[Perception of patients with chronic hemiplegia regarding the use of assistive walking devices].

Objective: To assess the perception of patients with chronic hemiplegia regarding the use of assistive walking devices (AWD).

Methods: Twenty-three individuals who met the inclusion criteria and used AWD were recruited from a database of 360 stroke survivors. Their mean age was 58.

Performance-based tests in subjects with stroke: outcome scores, reliability and measurement errors.

Objectives: To assess the intra- and inter-rater reliabilities and measurement errors of seven widely applied performance-based tests for stroke subjects (comfortable/maximal gait speeds and both stair ascending/descending cadences, as well as the Timed 'Up and Go' test) and to verify whether the use of different types of outcome scores (one trial, the means of two and three trials, and the best and the worst values of the three trials) affected the score values, as well as their reliability and measurement errors.

Design: Intra- and inter-rater reliability study.

Setting: Research laboratory.

Comparisons between the Nottingham Health Profile and the Short Form-36 for assessing the quality of life of community-dwelling elderly.

Background: The aging population and associated high disability rates make the assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) a high priority for elderly people.

Objectives: To compare the Brazilian versions of the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) and the Short Form Health Survey-36 (SF-36) regarding their measurement properties, such as, ceiling and floor effects, inter-rater/test-retest reliabilities, internal consistency, and the associations between the total scores and those of similar domains.

Methods: The NHP and the SF-36 were randomly administered through interviews to 40 community-dwelling elderly (mean age 70.

Impact of an exercise program on physical, emotional, and social aspects of quality of life of individuals with Parkinson's disease.

We evaluated changes in different domains of quality of life (QL) for persons with Parkinson's disease after a program of physical activity. Twenty subjects with a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease classified as Stages 1 to 3 on the Hoehn and Yahr scale and with a mean age of 61.5 +/- 9.