Abnormal binocular rivalry in unilateral neglect: evidence for a non-spatial mechanism of extinction.

Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) is considered to be an attention deficit, which is primarily related to space. Recent evidence points to the relevance of non-spatially lateralized mechanisms, with impairments found in rapid stimulus presentation conditions. Here we used the phenomenon of binocular rivalry (BR) to explore a non-spatial deficit over long temporal intervals.

Handgrip strength as a diagnostic tool in work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders in women.

The aim of this study was to determine if handgrip strength might be used as a diagnostic tool in musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremities in women working in an industrial environment. The setting was an electronic factory with four groups of women (n = 101) in a factory assembling electronic components. Handgrip strength was measured using a Jamar hydraulic hand dynamometer.

Dopamine transporter binding in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome: a [123I]FP-CIT/SPECT study.

Objective: To investigate dopamine transporter binding in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) with SPECT and [123I]FP-CIT.

Method: Ten neuroleptic naïve/free patients with GTS, and 10 age- and gender-matched normal volunteers were studied. Subjects were clinically evaluated.

Assessing and adjusting for cross-cultural validity of impairment and activity limitation scales through differential item functioning within the framework of the Rasch model: the PRO-ESOR project.

Introduction: In Europe it is common for outcome measures to be translated for use in other languages. This adaptation may be complicated by culturally specific approaches to certain tasks; for example, bathing. In this context the issue of cross-cultural validity becomes paramount.

Environmental and genetic determinants of tobacco use: methodology for a multidisciplinary, longitudinal family-based investigation.

This article describes the ongoing collaborative effort of six research teams to operationalize and execute an integrative approach to the study of gene x environment interactions in the development of tobacco dependence. At the core of the project is a longitudinal investigation of social and behavioral risk factors for tobacco use in individuals who were, on average, 13 years of age at intake and for whom smoking outcomes extending from early adolescence to young adulthood have been characterized previously (current average age of the cohort is 29 years). The conceptual framework for the integrative approach and the longitudinal investigation on which the study is based is presented.

Association between apolipoprotein E4 and rehabilitation outcome in hospitalized ischemic stroke patients.

Objective: To determine the value of apolipoprotein E4 (APOE*E4) allele in predicting discharge impairment and disability in ischemic stroke patients after acute rehabilitation.

Design: Prospective study comparing results of rehabilitation in patients with different APOE genotypes.

Setting: Acute neurologic rehabilitation department in Israel.

Blood homocysteine levels in stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation.

Background: One of the major concerns of a stroke victim is the threatening possibility of loosing all the functional achievements attained through prolonged rehabilitation effort, in case of a recurrent cerebrovascular event. Recently, elevated serum homocysteine (Hcy) level was found to be associated with an increased risk for atherosclerotic vascular disease. The aim of the present study was to assess the yield of screening stroke patients for hyperhomocysteinemia, as part of the measures taken to reduce the risk of stroke recurrence.

Sleep-related breathing disorders and rehabilitation outcome of stroke patients: a prospective study.

Objective: Sleep-related breathing disorder (SRBD) is more prevalent in stroke patients than in age- and sex-matched controls, but the relationship between SRBD, functional levels at admission, and subsequent recovery is unclear. We evaluated patients after a first stroke to determine the prevalence of SRBD and the influence of SRBD on the recovery of discharge functional status after a rehabilitation program.

Design: In a prospective study, 30 stroke patients were studied by continuous overnight pulse oximetry during sleep for the presence of desaturation events (fall of arterial saturation of > 4% from the baseline).

Reliability of the Catz-Itzkovich Spinal Cord Independence Measure assessment by interview and comparison with observation.

Objective: To examine the reliability of assessment with the Catz-Itzkovich Spinal Cord Independence Measure II (SCIM II) by interview and compare the findings with assessment by observation.

Design: In a cohort, comparative study, 28 inpatients with spinal cord lesions were assessed by two nurses using the Catz-Itzkovich SCIM II (interview) and by a multidisciplinary team (observation).

Results: Total agreement between interviewers ranged from 50% to 80% (Kappa coefficients 0.

Rehabilitation of a patient with critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP) following acute respiratory failure: a case report and review of literature.

Critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP), a neurologic complication that may occur secondary to cardio-respiratory distress, surgery, trauma and coma, is associated with sepsis or multiple organ failure. CIP is characterized by an axonal distal degeneration of sensory and motor fibres. The patients will often become neurologically conspicuous when weaning from mechanical ventilation is unexpectedly difficult.

[SCIM--spinal cord independence measure (version II): sensitivity to functional changes].

Until recently, the functional ability of patients with spinal cord lesions (SCL) was assessed by standardized scales designed for various disabilities. However, these scales have either a relatively low sensitivity to changes in the functions that are most important for SCL patients or a limited suitability for a specific SCL subgroup. To counter this problem the team of the Spinal Department of Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital developed the Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM), which is specific for SCL patients, adjusts for disadvantages of earlier scales, and is user-friendly.

Disability assessment by a single rater or a team: a comparative study with the Catz-Itzkovich spinal cord independence measure.

The Catz-Itzkovich Spinal Cord Independence Measure was found to be reliable and more sensitive than the FIM to functional changes, when used by a multidisciplinary team. This study was performed to find out whether assessment may be similar when done by a single rater. Twenty-eight patients with spinal cord lesions participated in the study, in which examinations performed within a week by a single nurse or a team were compared for correlation, differences and agreement.

Awareness of deficits in stroke rehabilitation.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the awareness of deficit profiles of stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation, and examine the impact of unawareness on rehabilitation functional outcomes. Sixty first-event stroke patients, 36 after right hemisphere damage and 24 after left hemispheric damage were included. The Awareness Interview was administered at admission to rehabilitation, and patients' responses were compared with standardized cognitive and neurological evaluations.

Dynamic cardiophysiologic variables correlate with lesion location and FIMTM in patients with ischemic stroke.

Objective: To examine the correlation between a clinical measure of function in patients undergoing rehabilitation who had recently had an ischemic stroke and to examine cardiophysiologic measures registered during effort.

Design: A cohort study comprising a sample of consecutive patients, without a history of cardiac disease or rhythm disturbances, admitted for rehabilitation after an ischemic supratentorial stroke. All patients were examined for the FIM trade mark score and dynamic cardiophysiologic variables.

Searching with unilateral neglect.

We address two longstanding conflicts in the visual search and unilateral neglect literature by studying feature and conjunction search performance of neglect patients using laterally presented search arrays. The first issue relates to whether feature search is performed independently of attention, or rather requires "spread attention." If feature search is "preattentive," it should survive neglect.

Rasch analysis of the Catz-Itzkovich spinal cord independence measure.

Background: The Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM) is a new disability scale developed specifically for patients with spinal cord lesions (SCL). Its original and second versions (SCIM and SCIM II) were found to be reliable and more sensitive than the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) to functional changes in SCL patients.

Objective: To further validate the SCIM II, examining its components on a larger population.

Evidence supporting a cognitive model of depression in Parkinson's disease.

The objective of this study was to explore the possibility that depression in Parkinson disease (PD) arises from an illness-related vulnerability to negative emotional stimuli. The Color-Word and Emotional Stroop tasks were performed by 27 nondepressed patients with PD and 27 healthy volunteers. Patients with PD showed greater interference to the sad words of the Emotional Stroop than did control patients, despite similar performances to the controls on the neutral and Color-Word Stroop tasks.

Rehabilitation outcome of elderly patients after a first stroke: effect of cognitive status at admission on the functional outcome.

Objective: To assess whether, and to what extent, cognitive outcome relates to overall functional outcome among elderly stroke patients.

Design: Nonconcurrent prospective study.

Setting: Geriatric rehabilitation division at a large, urban, academic, freestanding hospital in Israel.

Candidate gene approach for pharmacogenetic studies.

Genetic diversity in the form of single nucleotide DNA polymorphisms (SNPs) contributes to variable disease susceptibility and drug response. The candidate gene approach has been widely used to identify the genetic basis for pharmacogenetic traits and becomes increasingly more powerful with the recent advances in genomic technologies. High-throughput sequencing and SNP genotyping technologies allow the study of thousands of candidate genes and the identification of those involved in drug efficacy and toxicity.

[Relationship between type and amount of treatment and functional improvement in first-stroke during in-patients rehabilitation].

The effectiveness of ongoing rehabilitation services for post-acute stroke patients is poorly documented. The aim of the present study was describe the relationships between functional status at discharge and intensity of therapies, including occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy and nursing care, during inpatient medical rehabilitation. All patients (30) admitted after a first stroke.

Neuropsychiatry of the basal ganglia.

This review aims to relate recent findings describing the role and neural connectivity of the basal ganglia to the clinical neuropsychiatry of basal ganglia movement disorders and to the role of basal ganglia disturbances in "psychiatric"' states. Articles relating to the relevant topics were initially collected through MEDLINE and papers relating to the clinical conditions discussed were also reviewed. The anatomy and connections of the basal ganglia indicate that these structures are important links between parts of the brain that have classically been considered to be related to emotional functioning and brain regions previously considered to have largely motor functions.

The use of outcome measures in physical medicine and rehabilitation within Europe.

The aim of the study was to survey the use of outcome measures in rehabilitation within Europe. It was envisaged that this would provide the basis for further studies on the cross-cultural validity of outcome measures. A postal questionnaire was distributed in November 1998 to 866 units providing rehabilitation.

Visual search in peripheral vision: learning effects and set-size dependence.

Feature search for a light bar with one orientation (or color) embedded in an array of bars with a very different orientation (or color) is quick, easy and independent of the number of array elements. In contrast, search for a conjunction target has a linear response time dependence on the number of distractors. Training can improve performance of both these tasks.

The spinal cord independence measure (SCIM): sensitivity to functional changes in subgroups of spinal cord lesion patients.

Background: The spinal cord independence measure (SCIM) is a newly developed disability scale specific to patients with spinal cord lesions (SCL). Its sensitivity to functional changes in a whole cohort of SCL patients was found to be better than that of the functional independence measure (FIM).

Objective: o compare the sensitivity to functional changes of the SCIM and the FIM in SCL subgroups.