A Perspective on Implementation of Technology-Driven Exergames for Adults as Telerehabilitation Services.

A major concern of public health authorities is to also encourage adults to be exposed to enriched environments (sensory and cognitive-motor activity) during the pandemic lockdown, as was recently the case worldwide during the COVID-19 outbreak. Games for adults that require physical activity, known as exergames, offer opportunities here. In particular, the output of the gaming industry nowadays offers computer games with extended reality (XR) which combines real and virtual environments and refers to human-machine interactions generated by computers and wearable technologies.

Young endurance training starting age in non-elite athletes is associated with higher proximal aortic distensibility.

Objective: Decreased proximal aortic distensibility (AD) is known to significantly predict all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events among individuals without overt cardiovascular disease. This cross-sectional study investigated the association of endurance training (ET) parameters, namely, ET starting age, ET years and yearly ET volume with AD in non-elite endurance athletes.

Methods: Healthy, normotensive, male Caucasian participants of a 10-mile race were assessed with a 2D echocardiogram and comprehensive interview.

Role of Environment and Experimenter in Reproducibility of Behavioral Studies With Laboratory Mice.

Behavioral phenotyping of mice has received a great deal of attention during the past three decades. However, there is still a pressing need to understand the variability caused by environmental and biological factors, human interference, and poorly standardized experimental protocols. The inconsistency of results is often attributed to the inter-individual difference between the experimenters and environmental conditions.

Gait disorders in CKD patients: muscle wasting or cognitive impairment? A cross-sectional pilot study to investigate gait signatures in Stage 1-5 CKD patients.

Background: Instrumental gait analysis in nephrology is widely neglected, although patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) show brain changes due to cerebrovascular disease and metabolic disorders that can potentially influence gait quality. Our study assesses the association between CKD stages and gait parameters, to understand the prevalent status of brain related gait parameters (i.e.

A Pilot Observational Study Assessing Long-Term Changes in Clinical Parameters, Functional Capacity and Fall Risk of Patients With Chronic Renal Disease Scheduled for Hemodialysis.

Background: Patients with end-stage renal disease are known to be particularly frail, and the cause is still widely seen as being directly related to specific factors in renal replacement therapy. However, a closer examination of the transitional phase from predialysis to long-term hemodialysis leads to controversial explanations, considering that the frailty process is already well-described in the early stages of renal insufficiency. This study aims to describe longitudinally and multifactorially changes in the period extending from the decision to start the replacement therapy through to the end of 2 years of hemodialysis.

CRISPR/Cas9 editing of directly reprogrammed myogenic progenitors restores dystrophin expression in a mouse model of muscular dystrophy.

Genetic mutations in dystrophin manifest in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the most commonly inherited muscle disease. Here, we report on reprogramming of fibroblasts from two DMD mouse models into induced myogenic progenitor cells (iMPCs) by MyoD overexpression in concert with small molecule treatment. DMD iMPCs proliferate extensively, while expressing myogenic stem cell markers including Pax7 and Myf5.

Fatigue Monitoring Through Wearables: A State-of-the-Art Review.

The objective measurement of fatigue is of critical relevance in areas such as occupational health and safety as fatigue impairs cognitive and motor performance, thus reducing productivity and increasing the risk of injury. Wearable systems represent highly promising solutions for fatigue monitoring as they enable continuous, long-term monitoring of biomedical signals in unattended settings, with the required comfort and non-intrusiveness. This is a p rerequisite for the development of accurate models for fatigue monitoring in real-time.

MiRNA126 - RGS16 - CXCL12 Cascade as a Potential Mechanism of Acute Exercise-Induced Precursor Cell Mobilization.

Acute exercise enhances circulating stem and precursor cells (CPCs) in the peripheral blood. The responsible mechanisms and molecular pathways, however, have not been fully identified. The aim of the present study was to investigate a pathway related to elevated levels of apoptotic peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MNCs) and their secretome.

Making the Best Out of IT: Design and Development of Exergames for Older Adults With Mild Neurocognitive Disorder - A Methodological Paper.

Utilizing information technology (IT) systems, for example in form of computerized cognitive screening or exergame-based (also called active videogames) training, has gained growing interest for supporting healthy aging and to detect, prevent and treat neurocognitive disorders (NCD). To ameliorate the effectiveness of exergaming, the neurobiological mechanisms as well as the most effective components for exergame-based training remain to be established. At the same time, it is important to account for the end-users' capabilities, preferences, and therapeutic needs during the design and development process to foster the usability and acceptance of the resulting program in clinical practice.

Feasibility of Cognitive-Motor Exergames in Geriatric Inpatient Rehabilitation: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study.

The aim of this pilot randomized clinical trial was to test the feasibility and efficacy of an exergame-based cognitive-motor training program in geriatric inpatients. The study participants were randomly allocated to either the exergame intervention group or the control group. The control group received the standard rehabilitation treatment offered in the clinic.

Motor-cognitive intervention concepts can improve gait in chronic stroke, but their effect on cognitive functions is unclear: A systematic review with meta-analyses.

Motor-cognitive intervention concepts are promising to counteract residual gait and cognitive impairments in chronic stroke. There is, however, considerable variation in motor-cognitive intervention types, which may lead to different effects. This systematic review strived to summarize and compare the effects of different motor-cognitive intervention concepts on gait and cognitive functions in chronic stroke.

The VITAAL Stepping Exergame Prototype for Older Adults With Major Neurocognitive Disorder: A Usability Study.

This study investigates the usability of a stepping exergame in older adults with major neurocognitive disorder (MNCD) residing in a long-term care facility. A mixed methods study was conducted. Participants played exergames for 30 min on one try-out session.

Personalized Motor-Cognitive Exergame Training in Chronic Stroke Patients-A Feasibility Study.

Exergame training may be beneficial for improving long-term outcome in stroke patients. Personalized training prescription applying progression rules, is missing. We adapted a theory-based taxonomy for a rehabilitation approach using user-centered exergames.

Corrigendum: Acute Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress Does Not Affect Immediate or Delayed Precursor Cell Mobilization in Healthy Young Males.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.

Usability and Acceptance of an Interactive Tablet-Based Exercise Application: A Mixed Methods Study.

To investigate usability and acceptance of a newly developed interactive, tablet-based exercise application (app) and to explore personal opinions of therapists when using this app in the clinical setting. Twenty participants (10 therapists and 10 inactive healthy adults) tested usability of this app performing different test tasks, using the think aloud method, and rated overall satisfaction with the System Usability Scale and acceptance with a modified Technology Acceptance Model Questionnaire. For a secondary objective, personal opinions of therapists were evaluated with two focus groups, one for team leaders and one for team members.

Test Protocol Optimization of the Heart Rate-based Lactate Minimum Test.

The determination of the maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) requires at least two constant load tests. Therefore, different testing procedures to indirectly determine MLSS based on one single test have been developed. One such method is the application of the lactate minimum tests (LMT), where workload and heart rate-based protocols exist.

Stabilization after postural transitions in the elderly: Experimental study on community-dwelling subjects and nursing home residents.

Background: Postural transitions have been identified as presenting challenging situations for the elderly.

Research Question: This study hypothesizes a relationship between age-related factors and postural stabilization performance after a transition movement. In particular, the controlled factors in the experiment are: 1) assistance in living (independent living for community-dwelling subjects vs.

Recurrent rewiring of the adult hippocampal mossy fiber system by a single transcriptional regulator, Id2.

Circuit formation in the central nervous system has been historically studied during development, after which cell-autonomous and nonautonomous wiring factors inactivate. In principle, balanced reactivation of such factors could enable further wiring in adults, but their relative contributions may be circuit dependent and are largely unknown. Here, we investigated hippocampal mossy fiber sprouting to gain insight into wiring mechanisms in mature circuits.

Mental Health Literacy in Zurich: A First Measurement Attempt Using the General HLS-EU-Q47.

Mental health literacy (MHL) promises to be an important factor for public health by enabling people to take responsibility for their own mental health. To date, there is no measurement tool that allows the assessment of a comprehensive understanding of MHL as part of health literacy (HL). Nonetheless, the widely used Health Literacy Survey European Questionnaire 47 (HLS-EU-Q47) includes items assessing at least some MHL-aspects in the context of HL.

Exergaming Using Postural Feedback From Wearable Sensors and Exercise Therapy to Improve Postural Balance in People With Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Protocol for a Factorial Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Physical exercise is a common treatment for people with low back pain (LBP). Wearable sensors that provide feedback on body movements and posture during exercise may enhance postural balance and motor control in people with LBP.

Objective: This study aims to investigate whether physical exercising with postural feedback (EPF) improves postural balance, motor control, and patient-reported outcomes in people with LBP.

Signatures of Gait Movement Variability in CKD Patients Scheduled for Hemodialysis Indicate Pathological Performance Before and After Hemodialysis: A Prospective, Observational Study.

The frailty status of hemodialysis patients is well-known, but the role of the therapy in the frailty process is not yet clear. Nowadays gait analysis in nephrology is neglected, although gait performance is known to be related to frailty and kidney function. We hypothesized that gait quality and physical activity level is already affected before, and does not change because of the start of hemodialysis.

Can Reactivity of Heart Rate Variability Be a Potential Biomarker and Monitoring Tool to Promote Healthy Aging? A Systematic Review With Meta-Analyses.

Monitoring phasic responses of heart rate variability (HRV) in terms of HRV reactivity [i. e., the absolute change from resting state to on-task (i.

Comparing the Impact of Heart Rate-Based In-Game Adaptations in an Exergame-Based Functional High-Intensity Interval Training on Training Intensity and Experience in Healthy Young Adults.

Physical inactivity remains one of the biggest societal challenges of the 21st century. The gaming industry and the fitness sector have responded to this alarming fact with game-based or gamified training scenarios and thus established the promising trend of exergaming. Exergames-games played with the (whole) body as physical input-have been extolled as potential attractive and effective training tools.

Feasibility of a blended therapy approach in the treatment of patients with inflammatory myopathies.

Background: Inflammatory myopathies (IMs) are a group of rare conditions characterized by proximal and often symmetrical muscle weakness and reduced muscle endurance. The recommended medical treatment is based on corticosteroids in combination with immunosuppressants. This anti-inflammatory therapy serves to inhibit and prevent inflammation but does not influence impaired muscle strength.

Loss of all three APP family members during development impairs synaptic function and plasticity, disrupts learning, and causes an autism-like phenotype.

The key role of APP for Alzheimer pathogenesis is well established. However, perinatal lethality of germline knockout mice lacking the entire APP family has so far precluded the analysis of its physiological functions for the developing and adult brain. Here, we generated conditional APP/APLP1/APLP2 triple KO (cTKO) mice lacking the APP family in excitatory forebrain neurons from embryonic day 11.