Effect of a soft exosuit on daily life gait performance in people with incomplete spinal cord injury: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: People with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) often have gait impairments that negatively affect daily life gait performance (i.e., ambulation in the home and community setting) and quality of life.

(Cost-)effectiveness of a personalized multidisciplinary eHealth intervention for knee arthroplasty patients to enhance return to activities of daily life, work and sports - rationale and protocol of the multicentre ACTIVE randomized controlled trial.

Background: With the worldwide rising obesity epidemic and the aging population, it is essential to deliver (cost-)effective care that results in enhanced societal participation among knee arthroplasty patients. The purpose of this study is to describe the development, content, and protocol of our (cost-)effectiveness study that assesses a perioperative integrated care program, including a personalized eHealth app, for knee arthroplasty patients aimed to enhance societal participation post-surgery compared to care as usual.

Methods: The intervention will be tested in a multicentre randomized controlled trial with eleven participating Dutch medical centers (i.

The relationship between energy cost of walking, ankle push-off and walking speed in persons with multiple sclerosis.

Background: The energy cost of walking (ECw) is an important indicator of walking dysfunction in persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). However, its underlying causes and its relation with ankle push-off and walking speed are not well understood.

Research Question: What is the contribution of ankle push-off and walking speed to increased ECw in PwMS?

Methods: Ten PwMS with walking limitations and 10 individually gender- and age-matched healthy controls (HC) were included.

A clinical evaluation of implants in irradiated oral cancer patients.

In this prospective study, we determined the effects of the time interval between irradiation and implant therapy, implant location, bone-resection surgery, and irradiation dose on implant survival. We analyzed the survival of 446 implants inserted after radiotherapy over a period of up to 14 years in 130 consecutive patients treated for oral cancer. The 10-year overall Kaplan-Meier implant survival percentage is 78%.

Patients with head and neck cancer cured by radiation therapy: a survey of the dry mouth syndrome in long-term survivors.

Background: Xerostomia can have a significant impact on the quality of life of patients treated by radiation therapy (RT) for cancer in the head and neck. The first aim of the study was to evaluate the degree of xerostomia in 39 long-term survivors treated between 1965-1995 by conventional two-dimensional radiation therapy and currently without evidence of disease. The second aim was to develop a concise instrument to evaluate the subjective aspects of xerostomia.

Mucositis reduction by selective elimination of oral flora in irradiated cancers of the head and neck: a placebo-controlled double-blind randomized study.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that aerobic Gram-negative bacteria (AGNB) play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of radiation-induced mucositis; consequently, selective elimination of these bacteria from the oral flora should result in a reduction of the mucositis.

Methods And Materials: Head-and-neck cancer patients, when scheduled for treatment by external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), were randomized for prophylactic treatment with an oral paste containing either a placebo or a combination of the antibiotics polymyxin E, tobramycin, and amphotericin B (PTA group). Weekly, the objective and subjective mucositis scores and microbiologic counts of the oral flora were noted.

Fractionated high-dose-rate brachytherapy in primary carcinoma of the nasopharynx.

Purpose: A growing body of data suggests that local control in nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is related to the radiation dose administered. We conducted a single-institution study of high-dose radiotherapy (RT), which incorporated high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy (BT). These results were analyzed together with data obtained from controls who did not receive BT.

A new applicator design for endocavitary brachytherapy of cancer in the nasopharynx.

Introduction: In attempting to improve local tumor control by higher doses of radiation, there has been a resurgence of interest in the implementation of brachytherapy in the management of primary and recurrent cancers of the nasopharynx. Brachytherapy with its steep dose fall-off is of particular interest because of the proximity of critical dose limiting structures. Recent developments in brachytherapy, such as the introduction of pulsed-dose-rate and high-dose-rate computerized afterloaders, have encouraged further evolution of brachytherapy techniques.

[Orthodontic tooth extraction in a patient with idiopathic thrombocytopenia].

This article describes the removal of a molar in a patient with idiopathic thrombocytopenia by means of orthodontic forces. The indications and advantages as well as the disadvantages of this alternative for surgical extraction are discussed.

Behavior of calcium phosphate coatings with different chemistries in bone.

Calcium phosphate ceramic coatings with a hydroxyapatite chemistry applied on the surface of dental implants eliminate the need for initial mechanical retention and decrease the time necessary for bonding the implants to the bone. Hydroxyapatite-coated implants retrieved from patients were found to be compatible and to have bonded strongly to the bone, but the coatings showed thinning because of partial or total loss of coating material. This study compared the behavior in bone of newly developed fluorapatite and heat-treated hydroxyapatite coatings, with the clinically used hydroxyapatite coatings used as controls in experimental studies in dogs.

[Conformational radiotherapy in cancer of the head and neck: a future perspective].

The discovery of X-rays in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen paved the way to a new scientific epoch in the management of cancer. Today, with the XXI century in sight, radiotherapy has matured and has become one of the mainstays in the management of cancer. Although long-term success with the use of ionizing radiation in cancer treatment can be achieved in about half of our patients, significant improvements in tumor control rates and/or reduction in side effects (i.

Use of implants for prosthetic rehabilitation after cancer treatment: clinical experiences.

Treatment of patients with head and neck cancer may result in extensive intra- or extra-oral defects. Prosthetic rehabilitation often will be limited by insufficient retention and an atrophic mucosa or skin. In such cases, osseointegrated implants may offer substantially improved retention for the often complex prosthetic constructions.

[Preventive oral and dental care in radiotherapy patients].

An overview is presented of the preventive measures that can be taken with regard to the various side effects of radiotherapy of the head-and-neck region. Xerostomia, mucositis, radiation caries, trismus and osteoradionecrosis are to some extent preventable.

pH measurements with an ion sensitive field effect transistor in the mouth of patients with xerostomia.

A transistor pH electrode (ion sensitive field effect transistor), placed in the upper dentures of eleven xerostomia patients and five healthy volunteers, was used to register pH changes in five-, six- and seven-day-old dental plaque. A mouth rinse with a 10% sucrose solution caused a pH fall of about three decades. A significant difference in duration of critical plaque pH was observed: in xerostomia patients, a 10% longer period of pH less than 5.

A simple device to protect against osteoradionecrosis induced by interstitial irradiation.

The incidence of osteoradionecrosis has declined since the introduction of preventive oral hygiene programs and meticulous dental evaluations before and after irradiation. Nevertheless, radiation dose per se still remains an important factor in osteoradionecrosis. Interstitial radiation has received much attention in the past decade since the use of flexible afterloading systems.

In vivo study on the prevention of postradiation caries.

Postradiation caries is usually prevented by the application of topical fluorides (F) at high concentrations. The aim of this study was to develop an optimal preventive program for postradiation caries by evaluating the effects of F concentration and application procedures in subjects with radiation-related xerostomia. Six ground enamel slabs were mounted on each side of the lower denture of each of 7 xerostomia patients.

Diagnostic significance of salivary levels of beta 2-microglobulin in Sjögren's syndrome.

To evaluate the diagnostic significance of salivary beta 2m in Sjögren's syndrome we measured salivary beta 2m levels in 19 patients with primary sicca syndrome (PSS), 15 with secondary Sjögren's syndrome (SSS) and compared the results with 20 normal healthy persons. We showed that beta 2m is specifically excreted in the saliva, because in normal saliva the concentration of beta 2m was unrelated to IgA levels. Also in normals, there was no relationship between serum and saliva concentrations of beta 2m.

A double-blind crossover trial of CMC- and mucin-containing saliva substitutes.

The aim of this investigation was to describe and to compare the effectiveness of a CMC- and a mucin-containing saliva substitute. 22 post-radiation patients, 17 Sjögren's Syndrome patients and 3 patients with xerostomia of unknown origin used a CMC- and a mucin-containing saliva substitute, each for 1 week in an arbitrary sequence. Neither the patient, the assistant, nor the physician were aware of the substitute being used.

A clinical comparison between commercially available mucin- and CMC-containing saliva substitutes.

In this investigation, the subjective impressions of patients, suffering from severe xerostomia, have been recorded after symptomatic treatment with different CMC- and mucin-containing artificial saliva over 3 years. A total number of 137 patients divided into 3 groups participated. Group I (40 patients) used CMC-containing artificial saliva, group II (61 patients) alternately used CMC- and mucin-containing artificial saliva and group III (36 patients) used mucin-containing artificial saliva.