Effect of speech therapy on quality of life in patients with spinocerebelar ataxia type 3.

Background: Individuals with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) present communication and swallowing disorders, and consequent deterioration in quality of life (QOL).

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a speech therapy rehabilitation program on the QOL of patients with SCA3.

Methods: All participants were randomly assigned to two groups, an intervention group receiving speech therapy (STG) and a control group (CG).

Effect of Longitudinal Practice in Real and Virtual Environments on Motor Performance, Physical Activity and Enjoyment in People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Prospective Randomized Crossover Controlled Trial.

(1) Background: People with ASD commonly present difficulty performing motor skills and a decline in physical activity (PA) level and low enjoyment of PA. We aimed to evaluate whether longitudinal practice of an activity in virtual and real environments improves motor performance and whether this improvement is transferred to a subsequent practice when changing the environment, promoting PA and providing enjoyment; (2) Methods: People with ASD, aged between 10 and 16 years, were included and distributed randomly into two opposite sequences. The participants performed a 10 session protocol, with five sessions practicing in each environment (virtual or real).

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation to Brazilian Portuguese of the Modified Tardieu Scale for muscle tone assessment among patients with spinal cord injury.

Background: Assessment of muscle tone is of great importance for evaluating people with spinal injuries.

Objective: To translate and adapt the Modified Tardieu Scale (MTS) to Brazilian Portuguese and validate its use for evaluating patients with spinal cord injury.

Methods: The translation and adaptation of the "Escala de Tardieu Modificada" went through the steps of translation, translation synthesis, back-translation and expert committee meeting.

Effects of resistance training on postural control in Parkinson's disease: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Postural instability affects Parkinson's disease (PD) patients' postural control right from the early stages of the disease. The benefits of resistance training (RT) for balance and functional capacity have been described in the literature, but few studies have been conducted showing its effects on PD patients' postural control.

Objective: To investigate the effects of a three-month RT intervention on static posturography (SP) measurements and clinical functional balance assessment among PD patients.

Balance as an Additional Effect of Strength and Flexibility Aquatic Training in Sedentary Lifestyle Elderly Women.

Objective: To evaluate the additional effects of on balance an aquatic muscle strengthening and flexibility training program in healthy sedentary lifestyle elderly women.

Method: This controlled clinical trial included 56 healthy sedentary women, aged from 65 to 70 years, divided into two groups. The aquatic group (AG) underwent aquatic training (45 minutes/session, 32 sessions), and the control group (CG) received no intervention.

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.

Cognitive performance of children with spinal muscular atrophy: A systematic review.

Unlabelled: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is genetic and progressive, caused by large bi-allelic deletions in the SMN1 gene, or the association of a large deletion and a null variant.

Objective: To evaluate the evidence about cognitive outcomes in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Methods: Searches on the PUBMED/Medline, Web of Knowledge and Scielo databases retrieved 26 studies (1989 to 2019, descriptors "spinal muscular atrophy" and "cognition").

Is virtual reality beneficial for dual-task gait training in patients with Parkinson's disease? A systematic review.

Unlabelled: This systematic review examined the evidence about the effects of virtual reality (VR) on dual-task gait training in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: this study (PROSPERO registration CRD42019114736) aimed to answer the question: "Is VR beneficial for dual-task gait training in patients with PD?" We searched for studies from 2008 to 2018 on Medline/PubMed and Web of Science/Web of knowledge databases. The keywords were Parkinson AND gait training AND virtual reality OR Parkinson AND gait training AND game.

Hip Mobilization at Preterm Age May Accelerate Developmental Dysplasia Recovery.

Purpose: Few studies have described mobilization approaches in developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). The present study describes the hip mobilization of a preterm infant (born at 33 6/7 weeks of gestational age) diagnosed with DDH.

Design And Methods: During the 43-day hospital stay, the infant was seen twice a week (ten sessions, 20 minutes each).

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) to Brazilian Portuguese.

Objective: The clinical assessment of patients with ataxias requires reliable scales. We aimed to translate, adapt and validate the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) into Brazilian Portuguese.

Methods: The steps of this study were forward translation, translation synthesis, backward translation, expert committee meeting, preliminary pilot testing and final assessment.

A didactic approach to presenting verbal and visual information to children participating in research protocols: the comic book informed assent.

Objective: When children participate in research protocols, consent (by a parent or legal guardian) and assent (by the children) must be given. Understanding research protocols can be challenging for an adult and even more difficult for a child. The aim of this study was to describe the development of a comic book created to facilitate children's understanding of informed assent with clear and simple language.

Responsiveness of the Gait Domain of the Functional Evaluation Scale for Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Aim: To determine the responsiveness of functional gait assessment of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Method: A total of 160 films of 32 children (mean age: 9.5 ± 2.

Relationship Between Posturography, Clinical Balance and Executive Function in Parkinson´s Disease.

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between posturography, clinical balance, and executive function tests in Parkinson´s disease (PD). Seventy-one people participated in the study. Static posturography evaluated the center of pressure fluctuations in quiet standing and dynamic posturography assessed sit-to-stand, tandem walk, and step over an obstacle.

The general movement assessment in non-European low- and middle-income countries.

Abnormal general movements are among the most reliable markers for cerebral palsy. General movements are part of the spontaneous motor repertoire and are present from early fetal life until the end of the first half year after term. In addition to its high sensitivity (98%) and specificity (91%), the assessment of general movements is non-invasive and time- and cost-efficient.

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.

Educational status influences cognitive-motor learning in older adults: going to university provides greater protection against aging than going to high school.

Objective: To investigate if middle-aged and older adults with a higher education would differ from those with an average education in cognitive-motor tasks involving lower limb function.

Methods: A walking version of the Trail Making Test (Walking Executive Function Task, [WEFT]) was used. Eighty volunteers (40: 50-65 years; 40: 66-80 years) were subdivided into average (6-11years of education) and higher education (12-17 years).

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).

Massage and Storytelling Reduce Aggression and Improve Academic Performance in Children Attending Elementary School.

Background: Aggressive behaviors must be addressed in elementary schools. Massage and storytelling can be strategies to deal with aggression because both involve experience exchange and social interaction. Both can decrease stress and anxiety and increase self-esteem.

How often should sitting and rising from a chair be evaluated in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy?

Objective: To determine how often sitting/rising from a chair should be assessed in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients to avoid redundant/missing data.

Methods: Sitting/rising from a chair was evaluated in 26 DMD children (5-12 yrs), in three-month intervals, over twelve months, with the Functional Evaluation Scale (domain sitting/rising from a chair). Scores were compared by effect sizes (ES) and standardized response means (SRM) (responsiveness analysis).

Cognitive or Cognitive-Motor Executive Function Tasks? Evaluating Verbal Fluency Measures in People with Parkinson's Disease.

Introduction: Executive function deficits are observed in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) from early stages and have great impact on daily living activities. Verbal fluency and oral diadochokinesia involve phonarticulatory coordination, response inhibition, and phonological processing and may also be affected in people with PD. This study aimed to describe the performance of PD patients and an age- and education-matched control group on executive function, verbal fluency, and oral diadochokinesia tests and to investigate possible relationships between them.

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).

The relationship between motor function, cognition, independence and quality of life in myelomeningocele patients.

Motor function, cognition, functional independence and quality of life have been described in myelomeningocele patients, but no study has investigated their relationships. We aimed to investigate the relationships between motor function, cognition, functional independence, quality of life, age, and lesion level in myelomeningocele patients, and investigate the influence of hydrocephalus on these variables. We assessed 47 patients with the Gross Motor Function Measure (motor function), Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices (cognition), Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (functional independence) and the Autoquestionnaire Qualité de vie Enfant Imagé (quality of life).

Global Longitudinal Strain or Left Ventricular Twist and Torsion? Which Correlates Best with Ejection Fraction?

Background: Estimative of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is a major indication for echocardiography. Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) allows analysis of LV contraction mechanics which includes global longitudinal strain (GLS) and twist/torsion, both the most widely used. Direct comparison of correlations between these novel parameters and LVEF has never been done before.

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.