Development and validation of a questionnaire to self-assess the quality of interprofessional team meetings in primary and community healthcare.

In the context of a quality assurance policy, a regional network initiated a project to measure the quality of interprofessional consultation meetings. A questionnaire was evaluated on content validity by 48 stakeholders: healthcare professionals, representatives from healthcare organizations, interprofessional consultation meeting coordinators, and representatives from patient organizations. A revision resulted in two subscales (each consisting of 16 items) for assessing process and outcome aspects of interprofessional consultation meetings.

The effect of relaxation therapy on autonomic functioning, symptoms and daily functioning, in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia: a systematic review.

Objective: To establish the effects of relaxation therapy on autonomic function, pain, fatigue and daily functioning in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia.

Method: A systematic literature study was performed. Using specific keywords related to fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome and relaxation therapy, the electronic databases PubMed and Web of Science were searched.

Heart rate variability in patients with fibromyalgia and patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: a systematic review.

Objective: The goal of this systematic literature review is to determine whether there are differences and similarities in heart rate variability (HRV) between adult patients with fibromyalgia (FM), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and healthy pain-free control subjects.

Methods: To obtain relevant articles, PubMed and Web of Knowledge were searched for case-control studies. Selection of the literature was based on selection criteria ascertaining studies with adult human patient groups comparing HRV.

The tribunal of modern life: the case of UZ Brussels in the light of Odo Marquard's discussion on autonomy and theodicy.

Recently, a court in Belgium awarded a sum of 400 000 euros to the parents of a child with disability who at that point had already died of Sanfilippo syndrome. Their charge was not that the baby was born with disability, but that the child was born. The charge was brought in the child's name, and so effectively, the child had sued against its own birth.

Neural underpinnings of impaired predictive motor timing in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.

A dysfunction in predictive motor timing is put forward to underlie DCD-related motor problems. Predictive timing allows for the pre-selection of motor programmes (except 'program' in computers) in order to decrease processing load and facilitate reactions. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), this study investigated the neural correlates of motor timing in DCD (n=17) and typically developing children (n=17).

Muscle mass, muscle strength, functional performance, and physical impairment in women with the hypermobility type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Objective: To investigate lower extremity muscle mass, muscle strength, functional performance, and physical impairment in women with the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome hypermobility type (EDS-HT).

Methods: Forty-three women with EDS-HT and 43 sex- and age-matched healthy control subjects participated. Muscle mass was determined by dual x-ray absorptiometry.

Age-related differences in predictive response timing in children: evidence from regularly relative to irregularly paced reaction time performance.

Predictive timing refers to the anticipation and precise timing of planned motor responses. This study was performed to investigate children's predictive response timing abilities while accounting for confounding age-related effects of motor speed. Indices of predictive timing were evaluated for their contributions in motor skill proficiency as well.

Muscle-tendon tissue properties in the hypermobility type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Objective: To investigate the passive properties of the plantar flexors muscle-tendon tissue in patients with the hypermobility type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS-HT).

Methods: Twenty-five women with EDS-HT and 25 sex- and age-matched healthy control subjects participated in the study. Passive resistive torque (PRT) of the plantar flexors was measured with an isokinetic dynamometer during 2 standardized stretch protocols to obtain the passive muscle tension.

A clinically applicable six-segmented foot model.

We describe a multi-segmented foot model comprising lower leg, rearfoot, midfoot, lateral forefoot, medial forefoot, and hallux for routine use in a clinical setting. The Ghent Foot Model describes the kinematic patterns of functional units of the foot, especially the midfoot, to investigate patient populations where midfoot deformation or dysfunction is an important feature, for example, rheumatoid arthritis patients. Data were obtained from surface markers by a 6 camera motion capture system at 500 Hz.

Balance, gait, falls, and fear of falling in women with the hypermobility type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Objective: To investigate balance, gait, falls, and fear of falling in patients with the hypermobility type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS-HT).

Methods: Twenty-two women with EDS-HT and 22 sex- and age-matched healthy control subjects participated in the study. Each subject performed the modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance (mCTSIB) and the Tandem Stance test (TS) on an AccuGait force platform to assess balance by center of pressure-based postural sway measures.

Impairment and impact of pain in female patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: a comparative study with fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate functional impairment and the impact of pain in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, hypermobility type (EDS-HT), and to compare the burden of disease with that in women with fibromyalgia (FM) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: A total of 206 female patients were compared (72 with EDS-HT, 69 with FM, and 65 with RA). Functional impairment was assessed with the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), and the psychosocial impact of chronic pain was quantified with the Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI).