Corticospinal excitability is not facilitated by observation of asymmetric walking on a split-belt treadmill in humans.

The present study aimed to investigate changes in corticospinal excitability (CSE) by observing unnatural walking patterns on a treadmill with different left and right belt speeds. Fifteen healthy adults watched video clips (10 s each) of walking under the tied condition (left and right treadmill belt speeds are the same), walking during the initial and late periods under the split-belt condition (left and right treadmill belt speeds are different), and the static fixation cross (control condition) in random order. The step lengths of the actor in the walking clips were almost symmetric under the tied condition and during the late period under the split-belt condition but largely asymmetric during the initial period under the split-belt condition.

Dural arteriovenous fistulae in a 6-year-old girl with trisomy 21 and congenital heart disease.

Dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) represents a pathological group of intracranial shunts arising from the dural artery to venous sinus and veins. Childhood-onset DAVF is generally considered to be poor in prognosis, whereas only limited information is available for the onset and long-term outcomes. We herein report a Japanese girl with trisomy 21, large ventricular septal defects, and pulmonary vein stenosis, for which a transcatheter stent had been placed after birth.

Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia with Recurrent Epistaxis, Telangiectasia, Hepatic Arteriovenous Malformation, and a Poorly Developed Middle Cerebral Artery in a Patient with a Novel Mutation in the ACVRL1 Gene.

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal-dominant vascular disorder characterized by intractable epistaxis, mucocutaneous telangiectasias, and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) in multiple organs, including the lungs, liver, gastrointestinal tract, brain, and spinal cord. We herein report a 50-year-old Japanese man with HHT who experienced recurrent epistaxis, telangiectasia in the cornea, apex of the tongue and fingers; hepatic AVM; and a poorly developed main arterial trunk in the right middle cerebral artery. A genetic analysis revealed a novel heterozygous mutation in the activin A receptor-like type 1 gene, with a frameshift mutation in NM_000020.

Delivery of pleasant stroke touch via robot in older adults.

Touch care has clinically positive effects on older adults. Touch can be delivered using robots, addressing the lack of caregivers. A recent study of younger participants showed that stroke touch delivered via robot produced subjective and physiologically positive emotional responses similar to those evoked by human touch.