Shear wave elastography combined with electromyography to assess the effect of botulinum toxin on spastic dystonia following stroke: A pilot study.

Background: Shear wave elastography (SWE) is a method for carrying out a quantitative assessment of the mechanical properties of soft tissues in terms of stiffness. In stroke survivors, the paretic muscles may develop hypertonia due to both neural-mediated mechanisms and structural alterations with consequent muscular fibrous-fatty remodeling.

Methods: Fourteen adult patients with spastic dystonia following stroke were recruited.

Systematic Review of Fatigue in Individuals With Cerebral Palsy.

In this systematic review, we collected and analyzed literature works comparing self-reported fatigue and objectively-measured fatigue in individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) and in age-matched typically developing/typically developed (TD) controls (Healthy). The search was conducted on four electronic databases/platforms (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus) using the key words "cerebral palsy" combined with "fatig," where the asterisk was used as a wildcard. As a critical appraisal tool, the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Quasi-Experimental Studies (2017) was used.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in the Treatment of Subacute Post-Stroke Thalamic Aphasia.

Background: Although many studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in improving speech recovery in post-stroke aphasia, as far as we know patients affected by thalamic aphasia have never been investigated.

Patient And Method: A 65-year-old man with severe non-fluent aphasia due to a left thalamic haemorrhagic stroke underwent intensive daily speech therapy combined with tDCS.

Results: The patient showed progressive improvement with almost complete recovery of his speech disorder, behavioural disinhibition and apathy.