Weight change and sulfonylurea therapy are related to 3 year change in microvascular function in people with type 2 diabetes.

Aims/hypothesis: Although cardiovascular disease is the biggest cause of death in people with diabetes, microvascular complications have a significant impact on quality of life and financial burden of the disease. Little is known about the progression of microvascular dysfunction in the early stages of type 2 diabetes before the occurrence of clinically apparent complications. We aimed to explore the determinants of endothelial-dependent and -independent microvascular function progression over a 3 year period, in people with and without both diabetes and few clinical microvascular complications.

The Relationship between the School Function Assessment (SFA) and the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) in Ambulatory Patients with Cerebral Palsy.

Purpose: Determine the relationship between the SFA and GMFCS in children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods: Through correlation, regression, and ANOVA analysis, data from 103 children were examined. A regression model was used to compare SFA-predicted versus actual GMFCS levels.

Effects of age, sex, and comorbidities on the pediatric outcomes data collection instrument (PODCI) in the general population.

Background: The Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument (PODCI) is an outcomes assessment tool developed to allow measurement of health-related quality of life in children with disorders having musculoskeletal impact. The instrument was tested by Hunsaker and colleagues on a large population-based sample of children (n=5300), and partial results of that survey were published in 2002. Further publication of the findings did not occur.

Effects of a supported speed treadmill training exercise program on impairment and function for children with cerebral palsy.

Aim: To compare the effects of a supported speed treadmill training exercise program (SSTTEP) with exercise on spasticity, strength, motor control, gait spatiotemporal parameters, gross motor skills, and physical function.

Method: Twenty-six children (14 males, 12 females; mean age 9y 6mo, SD 2y 2mo) with spastic cerebral palsy (CP; diplegia, n=12; triplegia, n=2; quadriplegia n=12; Gross Motor Function Classification System levels II-IV) were randomly assigned to the SSTTEP or exercise (strengthening) group. After a twice daily, 2-week induction, children continued the intervention at home 5 days a week for 10 weeks.

Functioning and health-related quality of life of adolescents with cerebral palsy: self versus parent perspectives.

Aim: To determine whether there is a difference between perspectives of functioning and health-related quality of life (HRQL) of parents and ambulatory adolescents with spastic cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: A total of 139 parent patient pairs (73 females, 66 males; median age 14 y 6 mo, age range 11-18 y, Gross Motor Function Classification System [GMFCS] levels I-III, with hemiplegia [n=23], diplegia [n=103], triplegia [n=9], and quadriplegia [n=4]) were recruited from outpatient CP clinics at three pediatric orthopaedic hospitals, between 2000 and 2006, from whom Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument (PODCI) responses were collected.

Results: Cross-sectional data, calculated with intraclass correlation coefficients [ICC], showed parents and adolescents agreed more on functioning (ICC=0.

Relationship between parental PODCI questionnaire and School Function Assessment in measuring performance in children with CP.

Little data exists assessing the relationship between functional limitations in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and their participation in everyday activities. This prospective study evaluates the relationship between the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument (PODCI), a functional health-related quality of life instrument for children and their parents, and the School Function Assessment (SFA), a school-based functional assessment. One hundred and two children with CP (80.

Health-related quality of life outcomes improve after multilevel surgery in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy.

Background: Studies evaluating multilevel surgery to treat spastic deformity and functional deficits in cerebral palsy (CP) usually focus on data from instrumented gait analysis and clinical examination without examining functional and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes. Recently, outcome measures for well-being in children with a variety of musculoskeletal disorders have also been validated specifically for CP. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of multilevel surgery on the function and HRQOL in a group of ambulatory children with CP.

A prospective evaluation of the WeeFIM in patients with cerebral palsy undergoing orthopaedic surgery.

Purpose: Although frequently used in pediatric rehabilitation settings, the WeeFIM has not been tested in surgical pediatric orthopaedic patients.

Methods: The WeeFIM was administered to patients with surgical cerebral palsy at defined intervals preoperatively and at both 6 and 12 months postoperatively. The age-adjusted change scores from baseline to follow-up were tested both parametrically and nonparametrically.

Function and well-being in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a significant association between function and well-being in children with cerebral palsy. To determine this, the authors used validated measures of function (Gillette Functional Assessment Questionnaire, Gross Motor Function Classification System, Gross Motor Function Measure, and walking speed) and correlated them to health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measures (Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument, Pediatric Quality of Life instrument). In a cross-sectional study of ambulatory children with mild to moderate cerebral palsy aged 10.