Signatures of disease outcome severity in the intestinal fungal and bacterial microbiome of COVID-19 patients.

Background: COVID-19, whose causative pathogen is the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), was declared a pandemic in March 2020. The gastrointestinal tract is one of the targets of this virus, and mounting evidence suggests that gastrointestinal symptoms may contribute to disease severity. The gut-lung axis is involved in the immune response to SARS-CoV-2; therefore, we investigated whether COVID-19 patients' bacterial and fungal gut microbiome composition was linked to disease clinical outcome.

Efficacy of PBS067, subsp. BL050, and LRH020 in the Amelioration of Vaginal Microbiota in Post-Menopausal Women: A Prospective Observational Clinical Trial.

The menopausal transition marks a significant physiological shift in women. Menopause-related symptoms can significantly affect a woman's quality of life and probiotics have emerged as a promising avenue. This study aims to investigate the benefits of probiotics in improving vaginal well-being and microbiota composition in post-menopausal women.

Combined effect of medical therapy and rehabilitation in Chronic Ataxic Neuropathy with anti-Disialosyl IgM Antibodies (CANDA): a case report.

Chronic Ataxic Neuropathy with anti-Disialosyl IgM Antibodies (CANDA) is a rare form of immune-mediated sensory ataxic neuropathy. We describe the case of a 45-year-old man, who was diagnosed with CANDA in October 2018. Since then, he has been treated with monthly courses of intravenous immunoglobulin administration (IV Ig) and, in October 2022, he underwent plasmapheresis, reporting a sudden worsening of clinical and motor picture.

Skeletal muscle weakness in older adults home-restricted due to COVID-19 pandemic: a role for full-body in-bed gym and functional electrical stimulation.

Persons suffering with systemic neuromuscular disorders or chronic organ failures, spend less time for daily physical activity, aggravating their mobility impairments. From 2020, patients at risk are also older adults, who, though negative for the SARS-Cov-2 infection, suffer with a fatigue syndrome due to home restriction/quarantine. Besides eventual psycological managements, it could be useful to offer to these patients a rehabilitation workouts easy to learn and to independently repeat at home (Full-Body In-Bed Gym).

To contrast and reverse skeletal muscle weakness by Full-Body In-Bed Gym in chronic COVID-19 pandemic syndrome.

Mobility-impaired persons, either very old or younger but suffering with systemic neuromuscular disorders or chronic organ failures, spend small amounts of time for daily physical activity, contributing to aggravate their poor mobility by resting muscle atrophy. Sooner or later the limitations to their mobility enforce them to bed and to more frequent hospitalizations. We include among these patients at risk those who are negative for the SARS-COV-2 infection, but suffering with COVID-19 pandemic syndrome.

Foot Pressure Wearable Sensors for Freezing of Gait Detection in Parkinson's Disease.

Freezing of Gait (FoG) is a common symptom in Parkinson's Disease (PD) occurring with significant variability and severity and is associated with increased risk of falls. FoG detection in everyday life is not trivial, particularly in patients manifesting the symptom only in specific conditions. Various wearable devices have been proposed to detect PD symptoms, primarily based on inertial sensors.

Feasibility and Utility of mHealth for the Remote Monitoring of Parkinson Disease: Ancillary Study of the PD_manager Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Mobile health, predominantly wearable technology and mobile apps, have been considered in Parkinson disease to provide valuable ecological data between face-to-face visits and improve monitoring of motor symptoms remotely.

Objective: We explored the feasibility of using a technology-based mHealth platform comprising a smartphone in combination with a smartwatch and a pair of smart insoles, described in this study as the PD_manager system, to collect clinically meaningful data. We also explored outcomes and disease-related factors that are important determinants to establish feasibility.

Hairdressers are exposed to high concentrations of formaldehyde during the hair straightening procedure.

The fact that hairdressers are exposed to toxic substances through the handling of creams and smoothing products prompted this study whose aim was to quantify the occupational exposure of hairdressers to formaldehyde by comparing the results of exposure for different types of beauty salon. The study population consisted of 23 beauty salons located in the city of Bauru, São Paulo state, Brazil. The samples were collected by inhaled air tests during the most critical 15-min period of the hair straightening procedure and during the 8-h work shift.

To Reverse Atrophy of Human Muscles in Complete SCI Lower Motor Neuron Denervation by Home-Based Functional Electrical Stimulation.

After spinal cord injury (SCI), patients spend daily several hours in wheelchairs, sitting on their hamstring muscles. SCI causes muscle atrophy and wasting, which is especially severe after complete and permanent damage to lower motor neurons. A European Union (EU)-supported work demonstrates that electrical fields produced by large electrodes and purpose-developed electrical stimulators recover both quadriceps and hamstring muscles, producing a cushioning effect capable of benefitting SCI patients, even in the worst case of complete and long-term lower motor neuron denervation of leg muscles.

To Contrast and Reverse Skeletal Muscle Atrophy by Full-Body In-Bed Gym, a Mandatory Lifestyle for Older Olds and Borderline Mobility-Impaired Persons.

Older olds, that is octogenarians, spend small amounts of time for daily physical activity, contributing to aggravate their independence limitations up to force them to bed and to more and more frequent hospitalizations. All progressive muscle contractile impairments, including advanced age-related muscle power decline, need permanent management. Inspired by the proven capability to recover skeletal muscle contractility and strength by home-based functional electrical stimulation and guided by common sense, we suggested to older olds a 15-30 min daily routine of 12 easy and safe physical exercises.

Acceptability to patients, carers and clinicians of an mHealth platform for the management of Parkinson's disease (PD_Manager): study protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial.

Background: Parkinson's disease is a degenerative neurological condition causing multiple motor and non-motor symptoms that have a serious adverse effect on quality of life. Management is problematic due to the variable and fluctuating nature of symptoms, often hourly and daily. The PD_Manager mHealth platform aims to provide a continuous feed of data on symptoms to improve clinical understanding of the status of any individual patient and inform care planning.

Two years of Functional Electrical Stimulation by large surface electrodes for denervated muscles improve skin epidermis in SCI.

Our previous studies have shown that severely atrophic Quadriceps muscles of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients suffering with complete conus and cauda equina lesions, and thus with permanent denervation-induced atrophy and degeneration of muscle fibers, were almost completely rescued to normal size after two years of home-based Functional Electrical Stimulation (h-bFES). Since we used large surface electrodes to stimulate the thigh muscles, we wanted to know if the skin was affected by long-term treatment. Here we report preliminary data of morphometry of skin biopsies harvested from legs of 3 SCI patients before and after two years of h-bFES to determine the total area of epidermis in transverse skin sections.

In complete SCI patients, long-term functional electrical stimulation of permanent denervated muscles increases epidermis thickness.

Our studies have shown that atrophic Quadriceps muscles from spinal cord injury patients suffering with permanent denervation-induced atrophy and degeneration of muscle fibers, were almost completely rescued to normal size after two years of home-based functional electrical stimulation (h-bFES). Because we used surface electrodes to stimulate the muscle, we wanted to know how the skin was affected by the treatments. Here, we report preliminary data from histological morphometry of Hematoxylin-Eosin-stained paraffin-embedded skin sections harvested from the legs of three SCI patients before and after two years of h-bFES.

Relationship between pain and motor and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease.

Background And Purpose: Although female gender, depressive symptoms and medical conditions predisposing to pain are more common in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) with pain, no study has yet explored the relationship between pain and other non-motor symptoms (NMS).

Methods: A total of 321 consecutive patients with PD [190 men/131 women aged 68.3 (SD 9.

Atrophy, ultra-structural disorders, severe atrophy and degeneration of denervated human muscle in SCI and Aging. Implications for their recovery by Functional Electrical Stimulation, updated 2017.

Objectives: Long-term lower motor neuron denervation of skeletal muscle is known to result in degeneration of muscle with replacement by adipose and fibrotic tissues. However, long-term survival of a subset of skeletal myofibers also occurs.

Methods: We performed transverse and longitudinal studies of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), patients specifically complete Conus and Cauda Equina Syndrome and also of active and sedentary seniors which included analyses of muscle biopsies from the quadriceps m.

Tremor UPDRS estimation in home environment.

In this paper, a method for the assessment of the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating scale (UPDRS) related to tremor is presented. The method described consists of hand resting and posture state detection, tremor detection and tremor quantification based on accelerometer and gyroscope readings from a wrist worn sensor. The initial results on PD patient recordings on home environment indicate the feasibility of the proposed method in monitoring UPDRS tremor in patient home environment.

Monitoring of motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease through a mHealth platform.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex, chronic disease that many patients live with for many years. In this work we propose a mHealth approach based on a set of unobtrusive, simple-in-use, off-the-self, co-operative, mobile devices that will be used for motor and non-motor symptoms monitoring and evaluation, as well as for the detection of fluctuations along with their duration through a waking day. Ideally, a multidisciplinary and integrated care approach involving several professionals working together (neurologists, physiotherapists, psychologists and nutritionists) could provide a holistic management of the disease increasing the patient's independence and Quality of Life (QoL).

Idiopathic delayed-onset edema surrounding deep brain stimulation leads: Insights from a case series and systematic literature review.

Introduction: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is effective for some neurological and psychiatric conditions. Idiopathic delayed-onset edema (IDE) surrounding the leads has been anecdotally reported. The etiology, predisposing factors and prognosis of this complication are unknown.

Effects of Functional Electrical Stimulation Lower Extremity Training in Myotonic Dystrophy Type I: A Pilot Controlled Study.

Objective: Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a new rehabilitative approach that combines electrical stimulation with a functional task. This pilot study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of FES lower extremity training in myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Design: This is a controlled pilot study that enrolled 20 patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 over 2 years.

Magnetic Resonance Parkinsonism Index: diagnostic accuracy of a fully automated algorithm in comparison with the manual measurement in a large Italian multicentre study in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy.

Objectives: To investigate the reliability of a new in-house automatic algorithm for calculating the Magnetic Resonance Parkinsonism Index (MRPI), in a large multicentre study population of patients affected by progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) or Parkinson's disease (PD), and healthy controls (HC), and to compare the diagnostic accuracy of the automatic and manual MRPI values.

Methods: The study included 88 PSP patients, 234 PD patients and 117 controls. MRI was performed using both 3T and 1.

Quantitative Computed Tomography and Image Analysis for Advanced Muscle Assessment.

Medical imaging is of particular interest in the field of translational myology, as extant literature describes the utilization of a wide variety of techniques to non-invasively recapitulate and quantity various internal and external tissue morphologies. In the clinical context, medical imaging remains a vital tool for diagnostics and investigative assessment. This review outlines the results from several investigations on the use of computed tomography (CT) and image analysis techniques to assess muscle conditions and degenerative process due to aging or pathological conditions.

Biology of Muscle Atrophy and of its Recovery by FES in Aging and Mobility Impairments: Roots and By-Products.

There is something in our genome that dictates life expectancy and there is nothing that can be done to avoid this; indeed, there is not yet any record of a person who has cheated death. Our physical prowess can vacillate substantially in our lifetime according to our activity levels and nutritional status and we may fight aging, but we will inevitably lose. We have presented strong evidence that the atrophy which accompanies aging is to some extent caused by loss of innervation.