Utilizing three dimensional clinical gait analysis to optimize mobility outcomes in incomplete spinal cord damage.

Background: Three-dimensional gait analysis (3DGA) has not previously been considered by consensus panels of spinal cord experts for use in studies of patients with spinal cord damage (SCD), yet it is frequently used in other neurological populations, such as stroke and cerebral palsy.

Research Question: How does 3DGA impairment based reporting guide individualised clinical decision-making in people with incomplete SCD?

Methods: Retrospective open cohort case series recruited 48 adults with incomplete SCD (traumatic or non-traumatic spinal cord dysfunction) referred to the Clinical Gait Analysis Service (CGAS), Melbourne, Australia. Three-dimensional gait data were used to identify gait impairments by the multidisciplinary clinical team.

Retrospective study of functional outcomes and disability after non-ischaemic vascular causes of spinal cord dysfunction.

Describe demographic characteristics, functional outcomes and disability following rehabilitation for non-ischemic vascular spinal cord dysfunction (SCDys). Retrospective, open cohort, case series. Tertiary rehabilitation unit, Victoria, Australia.

Diabetes Therapies for Dementia.

Purpose Of Review: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a well-established risk factor for the development of dementia. Dementia and T2D share some underlying pathophysiology that has led to interest in the potential to repurpose drugs used in the management of T2D to benefit brain health. This review describes the scientific data available on the use of T2D medications for the risk reduction or management of dementia, in people with and without T2D.

Proactive review by the emergency department before inter-hospital transfer (the PREVENT study).

Objectives: To determine the population of patients where patient transfer may be prevented by assessment of a senior ED registrar at the referring hospital.

Methods: Patients transferred from Caulfield Hospital, specialising in community services, rehabilitation, aged care and aged mental health to The Alfred Emergency and Trauma Centre, an adult major referral centre within the same clinical network were identified from 1 July 2016 to 31 December 2016. Medical records were reviewed independently by two clinicians to determine preventability of transfer and whether attendance by a senior ED registrar could have prevented the transfer.

Sexual abuse in people with spinal cord damage.

There are few studies of sexual abuse in people with spinal cord damage (SCD). Objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and impact of sexual abuse in SCD. Survey (web and paper-based).

Reproducibility of the international spinal cord injury quality of life basic data set: an international psychometric study.

Study Design: Psychometric study.

Objectives: To examine the reproducibility of the international spinal cord injury quality of life basic data set (QoL-BDS) in an international sample of community-dwelling adults with spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/SCD) and in subgroups with respect to age (< 50 vs. ≥ 50 years) and etiology.

A Narrative Review of Pediatric Nontraumatic Spinal Cord Dysfunction.

This article provides a narrative review of seven key issues relevant to pediatric onset of spinal cord damage not due to trauma, or spinal cord dysfunction (SCDys). The first topic discussed is terminology issues. There is no internationally accepted term for spinal cord damage not due to trauma.

Two Days of Measurement Provides Reliable Estimates of Physical Activity Poststroke: An Observational Study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the duration of physical activity (PA) monitoring required for reliable measurements following stroke.

Design: Single-center, prospective, observational study.

Setting: PA was measured in a community setting.

Preliminary psychometric analyses of the International Spinal Cord Injury Quality of Life Basic Data Set.

Study Design: Secondary psychometric analysis of cross-sectional previously collected data.

Objectives: Explore the floor and ceiling effects, convergent, and divergent validity of the International Spinal Cord Injury Basic Quality of Life Data Set (SCI QoL-BDS) in a sample of people with spinal cord damage (SCD) from different countries, with different causes (both traumatic and non-traumatic), and different settings.

Setting: Community dwellers with SCD in Australia, Brazil, India, The Netherlands, and USA, and inpatient rehabilitation: India.

Observational Study of Brain Atrophy and Cognitive Decline Comparing a Sample of Community-Dwelling People Taking Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Angiotensin Receptor Blockers Over Time.

Background: Hypertension is an established risk factor for dementia. However, it is unclear whether there are differential effects of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) on brain health. In human observational studies, the evidence for superiority of either agent remains unclear.

Prevalence and Clinical Implications of Chronic Rhinosinusitis in People with Bronchiectasis: A Systematic Review.

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an extrapulmonary manifestation in some individuals with bronchiectasis, but the prevalence of CRS in this population and its clinical impact has not been systematically reviewed.

Objective: To systematically review the prevalence of CRS in bronchiectasis and identify its clinical implications.

Methods: Four databases were searched from inception to August 2018 for studies reporting the prevalence and/or clinical impact of CRS in individuals with bronchiectasis.

Naturalistic Measurement of Sleep in Older Adults with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: Anxiety Symptoms Do Not Explain Sleep Disturbance.

Background: Sleep disturbance is prevalent in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), the preclinical stage of AD, deterioration in sleep quality has also been reported. Consensus is lacking, however, regarding what aspects of sleep are characteristically affected, whether the setting of the sleep recordings impacts these findings, and whether anxiety may account for the differences.

A therapeutic songwriting intervention to promote reconstruction of self-concept and enhance well-being following brain or spinal cord injury: pilot randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To determine the size of the effects and feasibility (recruitment and retention rates) of a therapeutic songwriting protocol for in-patients and community-dwelling people with acquired brain injury or spinal cord injury.

Design: Randomized controlled trial with songwriting intervention and care-as-usual control groups, in a mixed measures design assessed at three time points.

Participants: A total of 47 participants (3 in-patients with acquired brain injury, 20 community participants with acquired brain injury, 12 in-patients with spinal cord injury, and 12 community participants with spinal cord injury: 23 1208 days post injury).

Survey on current treatments for pain after spinal cord damage.

Study Design: An online questionnaire.

Objectives: To assess the international spinal cord medicine and rehabilitation community's utilization of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for spinal cord damage (SCD)-related pain and to determine whether approaches to SCD-related pain differ between developed and less developed nations.

Setting: An international collaboration of authors.

Correction: Severe chronic pain following spinal cord damage: a pragmatic perspective for prescribing opioids.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/s41394-018-0094-3.].

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy secondary to hepatitis C virus infection-related T-cell lymphopenia.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is an uncommon neurological condition known to occur in the setting of T-cell immune suppression. We report a case of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection-related T-cell lymphopenia manifesting as PML. HCV treatment and transient viral suppression resulted in immunological recovery with clinical stabilisation.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus, brain atrophy, and cognitive decline.

Objective: To study longitudinal relationships between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cortical thickness, and cognitive function in older people with normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer disease (AD).

Methods: The sample was derived from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohort who underwent brain MRI and cognitive tests annually for 5 years. Presence of T2DM was based on fasting blood glucose ≥7.

Global mapping for the epidemiology of paediatric spinal cord damage: towards a living data repository.

Study Design: Literature review.

Objectives: Globally map key paediatric spinal cord damage epidemiological measures and provide a framework for an ongoing repository of data.

Setting: Worldwide, initiative of ISCoS Prevention Committee.

Long-term effects of a memory group intervention reported by older adults.

The aim of this study was to examine older adults' experiences of change following a group memory intervention, the La Trobe and Caulfield Hospital (LaTCH) Memory Group programme. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 individuals. Participants were healthy older adults and older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who had participated in the memory group five years previously.

Examination of risk scores to better predict hospital-related harms.

Background: Many hospitals use predictive scores to identify a person's risk of inpatient falls, pressure injury and malnutrition despite evidence of limited predictive accuracy.

Aim: To examine whether we could improve predictive accuracy by generating a score combining all components of currently used tools.

Methods: We performed a retrospective, cross-validation study in a single sub-acute (geriatrics and rehabilitation) hospital, extracting data regarding hospital risk scores, and incidence of falls, pressure injury and malnutrition from January 2014 to June 2016.

An Investigation of Pressure Profiles and Wearer Comfort During Walking With a Transtibial Hydrocast Socket.

Objective: The aims of the study were to conduct an investigation of the transtibial hydrocast socket interface pressures during walking and to explore potential relationships between pressures experienced and resultant wearer comfort.

Design: In this cross-sectional study, pressure data at the limb and hydrocast socket interface during walking were collected from 16 users of hydrocast sockets. The pressures at this interface were described by location, magnitude, and duration for all participants and were compared between the most and least comfortable participants.

Supranutritional Sodium Selenate Supplementation Delivers Selenium to the Central Nervous System: Results from a Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial in Alzheimer's Disease.

Insufficient supply of selenium to antioxidant enzymes in the brain may contribute to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology; therefore, oral supplementation may potentially slow neurodegeneration. We examined selenium and selenoproteins in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from a dual-dose 24-week randomized controlled trial of sodium selenate in AD patients, to assess tolerability, and efficacy of selenate in modulating selenium concentration in the central nervous system (CNS). A pilot study of 40 AD cases was randomized to placebo, nutritional (0.

The functional, spatio-temporal and satisfaction outcomes of transtibial amputees with a hydrocast socket following an extended usage period in an under-resourced environment.

Background: Transtibial hydrocast sockets have been shown to be a potential alternative to hand-cast patella-tendon bearing sockets, the use of which would have particular benefits in under-resourced environments. However, data concerning wearer outcomes of hard hydrocast sockets (i.e.