Neuromuscular diseases and social distance resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Coronavirus 2 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2), generically called COVID-2019, classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, has made health practices around the world face unique challenges. Since then, physical distancing and measures such as confinement have been adopted by different governments to control human-to-human transmission. This distance affected the treatment of individuals with progressive diseases such as neuromuscular diseases (NMDs).

Cardiac Autonomic Modulation in Subjects with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) during an Upper Limb Virtual Reality Task: A Prospective Control Trial.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease. As a result of the rapid progression and severity of the disease, people with ALS experience loss of functionality and independence. Furthermore, it has already been described presence of autonomic dysfunction.

Can Individuals Poststroke Improve Their Performance in Reaction and Movement Times in a Nonimmersive Serious Game with Practice? A Cross-Sectional Study.

To verify if individuals' poststroke and healthy controls would improve their performance in reaction and movement times practicing a serious game task using the upper limb movements. We evaluated 30 individuals poststroke and 30 healthy controls, matched for age and sex. We used the "Association Game for Rehabilitation" (AGaR) where participants played by matching a pair of images whose meanings were similar.

Trunk Control and Upper Limb Function of Walking and Non-walking Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Individuals.

: To verify and compare trunk control and upper limb functionality (ULs) in walking and non-walking DMD individuals, with that of individuals without dystrophinopathies.: Cross-sectional study, with children without dystrophinopathy (healthy control group) and in walking and non-walking DMD children evaluated by the following scales: Segmental Control Evaluation Trunk (SATCo); Performance of Upper Limb (PUL) and Jebsen-Taylor Test (JTT).: There was a difference between the groups in trunk control and ULs function by the PUL scale, but there was no difference between walking and the reference group in all JTT subtests; The JTT writing subtest was not different between groups.

Timed immersion expiration measures in patients with muscular dystrophies.

Introduction: Muscular dystrophies (MD) cause muscle weakness, affecting motor and respiratory functions. Aquatic activities maintain strength and ventilatory function and may require immersion expiration control.

Objectives: (1) To describe the evolution of timed immersion expiration in patients with MD in one-year follow-up.

Functional performance and muscular strength in symptomatic female carriers of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Unlabelled: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) usually affects men. However, women are also affected in rare instances. Approximately 8% of female DMD carriers have muscle weakness and cardiomyopathy.

Efficacy of different interaction devices using non-immersive virtual tasks in individuals with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: a cross-sectional randomized trial.

Background: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a rapid progressive neurodegenerative disease, characterized by a selective loss of motor neurons, brain stem and spinal cord which leads to deterioration of motor abilities. Devices that promote interaction with tasks on computers can enhance performance and lead to greater independence and utilization of technology.

Objective: To evaluate performance on a computer task in individuals with ALS using three different commonly used non-immersive devices.

Achievement of Virtual and Real Objects Using a Short-Term Motor Learning Protocol in People with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: A Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To evaluate whether people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) practicing a task in a virtual environment could improve performance given a similar task in a real environment, as well as distinguishing whether there is transference between performing the practice in virtual environment and then a real environment and vice versa.

Methods: Twenty-two people with DMD were evaluated and divided into two groups. The goal was to reach out and touch a red cube.

Reliability, validity and description of timed performance of the Jebsen-Taylor Test in patients with muscular dystrophies.

Background: The Jebsen-Taylor Test evaluates upper limb function by measuring timed performance on everyday activities. The test is used to assess and monitor the progression of patients with Parkinson disease, cerebral palsy, stroke and brain injury.

Objectives: To analyze the reliability, internal consistency and validity of the Jebsen-Taylor Test in people with Muscular Dystrophy and to describe and classify upper limb timed performance of people with Muscular Dystrophy.

Boys With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: 1-Year Locomotor Changes in Relation to a Control Group.

We compared the timed performance and compensatory movements of 32 boys (mean age = 10.0 years) with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and 38 healthy boys (mean age = 9.2 years) on 10 -meter walking and four-step stair work (climbing and descending).

Motor learning from virtual reality to natural environments in individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Purpose: To examine whether performance improvements in the virtual environment generalize to the natural environment.

Study Design: we had 64 individuals, 32 of which were individuals with DMD and 32 were typically developing individuals.

Methods: The groups practiced two coincidence timing tasks.

Improvements in motor tasks through the use of smartphone technology for individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Background: In individuals severely affected with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), virtual reality has recently been used as a tool to enhance community interaction. Smartphones offer the exciting potential to improve communication, access, and participation, and present the unique opportunity to directly deliver functionality to people with disabilities.

Objective: To verify whether individuals with DMD improve their motor performance when undertaking a visual motor task using a smartphone game.

Epidemiological and clinical factors impact on the benefit of riluzole in the survival rates of patients with ALS.

Objective: To investigate the impact of epidemiological and clinical factors on the benefit of riluzole in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Methods: The survival rate of 578 patients with ALS (1999-2011) was analyzed by descriptive statistics and Kaplan-Meier curves. Considering the median of the sample survival time (19 months), patients were divided in two groups: below (B19) and above the median (A19).

Hand Function in Muscular Dystrophies.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between Performance of Upper Limb (PUL) and Jebsen-Taylor Test (JTT) to assess and monitor upper limb function progression in patients with muscular dystrophy. Thirty patients diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, Becker muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy Type 1, and fascioscapulohumeral dystrophy were submitted to the shoulder, elbow, and wrist domains of PUL, and to JTT subtests. Spearman tests investigated the relationships between PUL and JTT total scores and domains.

Matching pairs difficulty in children with spinal muscular atrophy type I.

This study aimed to investigate the performance on pair-matching tasks in children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy type I (SMA-I) and the relationship between this performance and motor function, functional independence and quality of life. SMA-I (n = 12; 6.0 ± 2.

Autonomic Modulation in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy during a Computer Task: A Prospective Control Trial.

Introduction: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is characterized by progressive muscle weakness that can lead to disability. Owing to functional difficulties faced by individuals with DMD, the use of assistive technology is essential to provide or facilitate functional abilities. In DMD, cardiac autonomic dysfunction has been reported in addition to musculoskeletal impairment.

The relevance of trunk evaluation in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: the segmental assessment of trunk control.

The aim was to describe trunk control in ambulant and non-ambulant patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of a sample of 50 DMD patients, (M age = 16.7 years) who underwent the Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo).

Pain characterization in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between DMD and pain.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review in Medline/PubMed and BVS (virtual library in health) databases. We searched for articles that showed the terms "Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne" and "Pain" in all fields.

Relationship between muscle strength and motor function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between muscle strength and motor function and between these variables and age.

Method: Muscle strength was measured by Medical Research Council (MRC) scale and motor function, by Motor Function Measure (MFM), in 40 non-ambulatory patients. Spearman tests investigated the relationships between muscle strength, motor function and age.

Virtual reality in multiple sclerosis - A systematic review.

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease in which the insulating cover of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. The methods used for motor rehabilitation of patients with neurological problems require the performance of several rehabilitation exercises. Recently, studies related to the use of video game consoles have proliferated in the field of motor rehabilitation.

Computer task performance by subjects with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Aims: Two specific objectives were established to quantify computer task performance among people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). First, we compared simple computational task performance between subjects with DMD and age-matched typically developing (TD) subjects. Second, we examined correlations between the ability of subjects with DMD to learn the computational task and their motor functionality, age, and initial task performance.

The clinical relevance of timed motor performance in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Background: The measurement of time and compensatory movements for functional tasks is not frequently used to evaluate children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). As muscle weakness progresses, new synergies (compensatory movements) are selected to perform the tasks, demanding higher times.

Objectives: The present study aimed to describe the timed motor performance of rising from the floor to standing, sitting down on the floor from standing, climbing up four steps and climbing down four steps 18 and 6 months prior to gait loss and to investigate possible relationships between these timed performances, the compensatory movements and the Vignos Scale (VS) scores.

Mortality rates due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in São Paulo City from 2002 to 2006.

Objective: To describe the mortality rates of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the city of São Paulo as a function of demographics, year, and region.

Method: This was a retrospective descriptive study. Information was obtained from death certificates registered at the Program for the Improvement of Mortality Information, Municipal Health Department (PRO-AIM/SMS), coded as G12.

Effects of exercises on Bell's palsy: systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: This study examined the effects of facial exercises associated either with mirror or electromyogram (EMG) biofeedback with respect to complications of delayed recovery in Bell's palsy.

Patients: Patients with unilateral idiopathic facial palsy were included in this review.

Interventions: Facial exercises associated with mirror and/or EMG biofeedback as treatment.

[Correlation between corticospinal tract degeneration through magnetic resonance imaging, and functional scale (ALSFRS) in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis].

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the corticospinal tract. ALS functional rating scale (ALSFRS) is a questionnaire that quantifies motor deficits, while diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) evaluates the integrity of fibers through the fractional anisotropy (FA). In the present study, seven ALS patients were evaluated by ALSFRS and immediately submitted to DTI, getting FA values in the following regions: cerebral peduncle (PC), internal capsule (CI) and the white matter under the primary motor cortex (M1), secondary motor cortex (M2) and somesthetic cortex (SI).