Etidronate is a non-nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate. Because it binds with calcium and inhibits crystal formation and dissolution, it was considered by Procter & Gamble as an additive to toothpaste (to prevent build-up of tartar) and detergent (to bind calcium and increase sudsing in "hard" water). The first clinical use (1968) was for fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Neurotoxic cancer treatments can cause chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and postural control deficits that cancer survivors report as a concern. Exercise-based sensorimotor training has emerged as a promising treatment for symptoms including balance deficits, however, more study is needed to optimize engagement and participation. We evaluated feasibility, satisfaction, and preliminary efficacy of a novel balance training program for cancer survivors: partnered, Adapted Argentine Tango dance (Tango).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To demonstrate naturalistic motor control speed, coordinated grasp, and carryover from trained to novel objects by an individual with tetraplegia using a brain-computer interface (BCI)-controlled neuroprosthetic.
Design: Phase I trial for an intracortical BCI integrated with forearm functional electrical stimulation (FES). Data reported span postimplant days 137 to 1478.
Objective: Paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury (SCI) can have a devastating effect on multiple arm and hand motor functions. Rotary hand movements, such as supination and pronation, are commonly impaired by upper extremity paralysis, and are essential for many activities of daily living. In this proof-of-concept study, we utilize a neural bypass system (NBS) to decode motor intention from motor cortex to control combinatorial rotary hand movements elicited through stimulation of the arm muscles, effectively bypassing the SCI of the study participant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIndividuals with tetraplegia identify restoration of hand function as a critical, unmet need to regain their independence and improve quality of life. Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)-controlled Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) technology addresses this need by reconnecting the brain with paralyzed limbs to restore function. In this study, we quantified performance of an intuitive, cortically-controlled, transcutaneous FES system on standardized object manipulation tasks from the Grasp and Release Test (GRT).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuroprosthetics that combine a brain computer interface (BCI) with functional electrical stimulation (FES) can restore voluntary control of a patients' own paralyzed limbs. To date, human studies have demonstrated an "all-or-none" type of control for a fixed number of pre-determined states, like hand-open and hand-closed. To be practical for everyday use, a BCI-FES system should enable smooth control of limb movements through a continuum of states and generate situationally appropriate, graded muscle contractions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To evaluate whether a mobile health application that employs elements of social game design could compliment medical care for unresolved concussion symptoms.
Design: Phase I and Phase II (open-label, non-randomized, ecological momentary assessment methodology).
Setting: Outpatient concussion clinic.
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc
August 2016
Recent advances in Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) have created hope that one day paralyzed patients will be able to regain control of their paralyzed limbs. As part of an ongoing clinical study, we have implanted a 96-electrode Utah array in the motor cortex of a paralyzed human. The array generates almost 3 million data points from the brain every second.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuroprosthetic technology has been used to restore cortical control of discrete (non-rhythmic) hand movements in a paralyzed person. However, cortical control of rhythmic movements which originate in the brain but are coordinated by Central Pattern Generator (CPG) neural networks in the spinal cord has not been demonstrated previously. Here we show a demonstration of an artificial neural bypass technology that decodes cortical activity and emulates spinal cord CPG function allowing volitional rhythmic hand movement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMillions of people worldwide suffer from diseases that lead to paralysis through disruption of signal pathways between the brain and the muscles. Neuroprosthetic devices are designed to restore lost function and could be used to form an electronic 'neural bypass' to circumvent disconnected pathways in the nervous system. It has previously been shown that intracortically recorded signals can be decoded to extract information related to motion, allowing non-human primates and paralysed humans to control computers and robotic arms through imagined movements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) damages the frontal lobes and connecting networks, which impairs executive functions, including the ability to self-regulate. Despite significant disabling effects, there are few treatment options in the chronic phase after injury.
Objective: To investigate the safety and potential effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for individuals with chronic, disabling TBI and problems of behavioral and emotional self-regulation.
Introduction: Consistent evidence linking habitual sleep duration with risks of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia is lacking.
Methods: We conducted a prospective study on 7444 community-dwelling women (aged 65-80 y) with self-reported sleep duration, within the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study in 1995-2008. Incident MCI/dementia cases were ascertained by validated protocols.
Semin Reprod Med
November 2014
Osteoporosis and its associated increased risk for fragility fracture is one of the most disabling consequences of aging in women. To successfully reduce the public health burden of this pervasive disease, it is necessary to develop strategies that permit the earlier identification of women at risk for fracture and ensure that preventive interventions to reduce the risk for fracture are both safe and effective. The Women's Health Initiative offers the unprecedented opportunity to systematically address both of these issues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTranscranial magnetic stimulation has generated extensive interest within the traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation community, but little work has been done with repetitive protocols, which can produce prolonged changes in behavior. This is partly because of concerns about the safety of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in subjects with TBI, particularly the risk of seizures. These risks can be minimized by careful selection of the rTMS protocol and exclusion criteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Little is known about early knee osteoarthritis (OA). The significance of lesions on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in older persons without radiographic OA is unclear. Our objectives were to determine the extent of tissue pathology by MRI and evaluate its significance by testing the following hypotheses: cartilage damage, bone marrow lesions, and meniscal damage are associated with prevalent frequent knee symptoms and incident persistent symptoms; bone marrow lesions and meniscal damage are associated with incident tibiofemoral (TF) cartilage damage; and bone marrow lesions are associated with incident patellofemoral (PF) cartilage damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To investigate whether objectively measured time spent in light intensity physical activity is related to incident disability and to disability progression.
Design: Prospective multisite cohort study from September 2008 to December 2012.
Setting: Baltimore, Maryland; Columbus, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA.
Background: Interactive arts technologies, designed to augment the acute neurorehabilitation provided by expert therapists, may overcome existing barriers of access for patients with low motor and cognitive function.
Objectives: Develop an application prototype to present movement feedback interactively and creatively. Evaluate feasibility of use within acute neurorehabilitation.
Objectives: To examine prestroke lifestyle factors associated with poststroke mortality and recovery in older women.
Design: Longitudinal prospective cohort study.
Setting: The Women's Health Initiative (WHI, clinical trials and observational study), 40 clinical centers in the United States.
Objective: To investigate the public health impact of obesity and other modifiable risk factors related to physical inactivity in adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA).
Methods: The frequency of inactivity as defined by the US Department of Health and Human Services was assessed from objective accelerometer monitoring of 1,089 participants (ages 49-84 years) with radiographic knee OA during the Osteoarthritis Initiative 48-month visit (2008-2010). The relationship between modifiable factors (weight status, dietary fat, fiber, smoking, depressive symptoms, knee function, knee pain, and knee confidence) with inactivity was assessed using odds ratios (ORs) and attributable fractions (AFs), controlling for descriptive factors (age, sex, race, education, lives alone, employment, frequent knee symptoms, and comorbidity).
Background: Antidepressants are commonly prescribed medications in the elderly, but their relationship with incident mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and probable dementia is unknown.
Methods: The study cohort included 6,998 cognitively healthy, postmenopausal women, aged 65-79 years, who were enrolled in a hormone therapy clinical trial and had baseline depressive symptoms and antidepressant use history assessments at enrollment, and at least one postbaseline cognitive measurement. Participants were followed annually and the follow-up averaged 7.
Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) clinical practice guidelines identify a substantial therapeutic role for physical activity, but objective information about the physical activity of this population is lacking. The aim of this study was to objectively measure levels of physical activity in adults with knee OA and report the prevalence of meeting public health physical activity guidelines.
Methods: Cross-sectional accelerometry data from 1,111 adults with radiographic knee OA (49-84 years old) participating in the Osteoarthritis Initiative accelerometry monitoring ancillary study were assessed for meeting the aerobic component of the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (≥150 minutes/week moderate-to-vigorous-intensity activity lasting ≥10 minutes).
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and advanced related methods such as diffusion spectrum and kurtosis imaging are limited by low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at conventional field strengths. DTI at 7 T can provide increased SNR; however, B0 and B1 inhomogeneity and shorter T2⁎ still pose formidable challenges. The purpose of this study was to quantify and compare SNR at 7 and 3 T for different parallel imaging reduction factors, R, and TE, and to evaluate SNRs influences on fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUse of conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) has been linked to smaller regional brain volumes in women aged ≥65 years; however, it is unknown whether this results in a broad-based characteristic pattern of effects. Structural magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess regional volumes of normal tissue and ischemic lesions among 513 women who had been enrolled in a randomized clinical trial of CEE therapy for an average of 6.6 years, beginning at ages 65-80 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Physical activity measured by accelerometers requires basic assumptions to translate the output into meaningful measures. We used accelerometer data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative to investigate in the context of knee osteoarthritis (OA) the following data processing assumptions derived from the general US adult population: nonwear (a period the monitor was removed), based on zero activity exceeding 60 minutes; and a valid day of monitoring, based on wear time evidence exceeding 10 hours.
Methods: We examined the influence of nonwear thresholds ranging from 20 to 300 minutes of zero activity on mean daily activity minutes (counts>0), mean daily activity counts, and mean daily moderate to vigorous physical activity minutes.