Objective: Drop foot is a common impairment following stroke or other causes of central pathology. We report data on patient self-perceived performance, satisfaction with performance, walking ability, and adverse effects after surgical implantation of the ActiGait® drop foot stimulator.
Design: Prospective case study with a 12-month follow-up.
Study Design: 1-year prospective RCT.
Objective: Examine the effect of implantable pulse generator and low-frequency stimulation of the pelvic nerves using laparoscopic implantation of neuroprosthesis (LION) compared with neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in SCI.
Methods: Inclusion criteria: traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), age 18-55 years, neurological level-of-injury Th4-L1, time-since-injury >1 year, and AIS-grades A-B.
Introduction: Blood flow-restricted exercise (BFRE) appears to hold considerable potential in spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation, due to its ability to induce beneficial functional changes and morphological alterations from low-intensity, low-load exercise. However, it remains unclear if this training approach is feasible and safe in individuals with autonomic dysreflexia (AD).
Case Presentation: A 23-year-old male with traumatic, cervical (C6), motor-complete (AIS: B) SCI and diagnosed AD completed eight sessions of BFRE for the upper extremities over 4 weeks.
Introduction: Skeletal muscle is changed after stroke, but conflicting data exist concerning muscle morphology and oxidative enzyme capacity.
Methods: In 36 chronic stroke patients bilateral rectus femoris muscle biopsies were analyzed, and fiber type proportions and cross-sectional areas were determined by ATPase histochemistry. Enzymatic concentrations of citrate synthase (CS) and 3-Hydroxyacyl-coenzymeA-dehydrogenase (HAD) were determined using freeze-dried muscle tissue.
Background: The impact of age on rehabilitation outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI) as measured by changes in the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) has been addressed in several seemingly conflicting reports. Differences may be explained by different study populations and different ways of analyzing data.
Objective: To investigate the role of data analysis in the interpretation of the age effect on rehabilitation outcome after TBI by comparing classical analyses of the total FIM score with a new item-wise analysis that unfolds the comprehensive amount of information contained in the FIM measurement otherwise concealed by the total score.
Objective: The aim of this study was to directly compare the effects of aerobic training (AT) with progressive resistance training (RT) after stroke to determine whether AT-induced fitness gains or RT-induced strength gains translate into improved ambulation across a 12-wk intervention and whether gains are retained 1 yr after cessation of formal training.
Design: This study is a randomized controlled 12-wk intervention trial with a 1-yr follow-up. Forty-three community-dwelling independent walkers with a chronic ischemic hemiparetic stroke were allocated to AT using a cycle ergometer (n = 13), RT using training machines (n = 14), or low-intensity sham training of the arms (n = 16).
Objective: To investigate the relationship between a short walking test and a long walking test in patients with walking disability due to multiple sclerosis (MS) or stroke.
Design: Cross-sectional observational study.
Setting: University hospital and sport science department.
Objectives: To assess muscle strength, aerobic capacity, and walking performance compared with normative values in chronic hemiparetic stroke patients and, thereby, to investigate the potential for endurance and resistance training. Second, to study the relations between muscle strength, aerobic capacity, and walking performance using normalized test values.
Design: Population-based, cross-sectional study.
J Peripher Nerv Syst
December 2007
To determine the resistance of neuronal dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells in experimental diabetes, we studied the neuronal cell loss after severe axonal injury in streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rats with unilateral transection of the L5 spinal nerve for 12 weeks. Fifty 18-week-old inbred male Wistar rats were randomly allocated to three study groups. In study group 1 without spinal nerve injury, STZ diabetes was induced in 9 and 10 rats were kept as nondiabetic controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To establish a bedside test with ultrasonography for evaluation of foot muscle atrophy in diabetic patients.
Research Design And Methods: Thickness and cross-sectional area (CSA) of the extensor digitorum brevis muscle (EDB) and of the muscles of the first interstitium (MILs) were determined in 26 diabetic patients and in 26 matched control subjects using ultrasonography. To estimate the validity, findings were related to the total volume of all foot muscles determined at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI-FM(vol)).
Objective: To evaluate the relation between the findings at nerve conduction studies and the size of small foot muscles determined by ultrasonography.
Methods: In 26 diabetic patients the size of the extensor digitorum brevis muscle (EDB) and of the muscles between the first and second metatarsal bone (MIL) was determined. Motor nerve conduction studies of the peroneal and tibial nerves were performed with determination of the amplitudes of the CMAPs and of the nerve conduction velocities (NCV).