Effectiveness of rehabilitation intervention in persons with Friedreich ataxia.

Introduction: The relevance of rehabilitation in progressive neurological disorders, such as Friedreich's Ataxia (FRDA), has yet to be convincingly proven. FRDA is characterized by ataxia, loss of gait, scoliosis, cardiomyopathy, dysarthria and dysphagia, with reduced life expectancy. The disease onset is usually in adolescence, leading to progressive disability.

Automated ICF Coding of Rehabilitation Notes for Low-Resource Languages via Continual Training of Language Models.

The coding of medical documents and in particular of rehabilitation notes using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is a difficult task showing low agreement among experts. Such difficulty is mainly caused by the specific terminology that needs to be used for the task. In this paper, we address the task developing a model based on a large language model, BERT.

Deep Brain Stimulation in childhood-onset dystonia due to brain pathology. A long-term study.

Background: Pallidal Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is an established treatment option for isolated, inherited or idiopathic dystonia, however data on its safety and efficacy in other forms of dystonia are more limited.

Objectives: Retrospective analysis of motor and non-motor outcomes in pediatric onset refractory dystonia due to static or progressive brain disorders in a cohort of patients with a DBS treatment duration ≥12 months.

Methods: Multidisciplinary assessments including standardised scales/tests of motor function, pain, quality of life, cognition and language were carried out before implantation and longitudinally afterwards.

The dystonic child treated with deep brain stimulation: ICF reading of a high-tech approach.

Purpose: The available tools used to describe childhood dystonia tend to offer a monodimensional view of the person functioning, which may overlook significant changes induced by treatment. We applied the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) perspective to the description of the clinical picture of a dystonic child treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS) to get a more global representation of the treatment effect.

Method: An 8-year-old child with secondary dystonia was selected within the institutional program for advanced treatment of pediatric dystonia as a candidate for bilateral implantation of electrodes into globus pallidus and chronic stimulation.