Caregiver resilience following traumatic brain injury: Findings at six months postinjury.

Purpose/objective: Examine contributors to resilience among caregivers of individuals who have sustained a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), with the goal of identifying important targets for an intervention to improve caregiver resilience as well as outcomes for people with TBI.

Research Method/design: Participants were adult caregivers ( = 176) and individuals with TBI who required inpatient rehabilitation at six TBI Model System sites. Measures included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10, Family Needs Questionnaire, Zarit Burden Interview, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7.

Loss of lower extremity bone mineral density 1 year after denosumab is discontinued in persons with subacute spinal cord injury.

Unlabelled: Twelve months following discontinuation of denosumab, the percent decrease in mean bone mineral density (BMD) values at the hip and knee regions were similar between both the denosumab and placebo groups. These findings emphasize the need for additional trials to understand the effect of continued administration of denosumab after subacute spinal cord injury (SCI) to avoid this demineralization.

Objective: To determine changes in BMD 1 year after denosumab was discontinued in participants with subacute SCI who had drug treatment initiated within 90 days post SCI and continued for 1 year.

Independent contributions of social cognition and depression to functional status after moderate or severe traumatic brain injury.

Impairments in cognitive processing related to social understanding and communication (i.e., "social cognition") are well documented after moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and can contribute to negative functional outcome.

Unemployment in multiple sclerosis across the ages: How factors of unemployment differ among the decades of life.

Rates of unemployment in multiple sclerosis are high. Certain disease, psychological, and person-specific factors contribute to these high rates. The present study examined these factors and associated risk of unemployment by age.

Duplex ultrasound surveillance for deep vein thrombosis after acute traumatic spinal cord injury at rehabilitation admission.

To determine the prevalence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) detected through routine duplex screening and factors associated with DVT in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients on admission to rehabilitation. Retrospective chart review of medical records. Acute inpatient rehabilitation.

The Feasibility of Telephone-Administered Cognitive Testing in Individuals 1 and 2 Years after Inpatient Rehabilitation for Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often results in cognitive impairment, and trajectories of cognitive functioning can vary tremendously over time across survivors. Traditional approaches to measuring cognitive performance require face-to-face administration of a battery of objective neuropsychological tests, which can be time- and labor-intensive. There are numerous clinical and research contexts in which in-person testing is undesirable or unfeasible, including clinical monitoring of older adults or individuals with disability for whom travel is challenging, and epidemiological studies of geographically dispersed participants.

Comparing the Open Trial - Selective Reminding Test results with the California Learning Verbal Test II in multiple sclerosis.

We compared the California Learning Verbal Test II (CVLT II) and the Open Trial-Selective Reminding Test (OT-SRT) in assessing learning in persons with Multiple Sclerosis. One-hundred and twelve participants with multiple sclerosis performed the OT-SRT and the CVLT II on two different days. All participants completed additional cognitive tests assessing information processing speed (IPS), working memory (WM), and executive functions (EF).

Longitudinal Recovery and Reduced Costs After 120 Sessions of Locomotor Training for Motor Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury.

Objective: To determine the impact of long-term, body weight-supported locomotor training after chronic, incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI), and to estimate the health care costs related to lost recovery potential and preventable secondary complications that may have occurred because of visit limits imposed by insurers.

Design: Prospective observational cohort with longitudinal follow-up.

Setting: Eight outpatient rehabilitation centers that participate in the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation NeuroRecovery Network (NRN).

Proposed cut scores for tests of the Brief International Cognitive Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS).

Objective: Cognitive impairment (CI) is common in multiple sclerosis (MS). An international consensus committee developed the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) to screen for CI commonly seen in MS. BICAMS cut scores would allow clinicians to, efficiently and effectively, identify patients with possible CI and could aid in clinical decision-making.

Caring for our wounded warriors: A qualitative examination of health-related quality of life in caregivers of individuals with military-related traumatic brain injury.

The purpose of this study was to develop a conceptual framework that captures aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for caregivers of individuals with military-related traumatic brain injury (TBI). We analyzed qualitative data from nine focus groups composed of caregivers of wounded warriors with a medically documented TBI. Focus group participants were recruited through hospital-based and/or community outreach efforts at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the University of Michigan, and Hearts of Valor support groups (Tennessee and Washington).

Differential item functioning in the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Pediatric Short Forms in a sample of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy.

Aim: The present study examined the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Mobility, Fatigue, and Pain Interference Short Forms (SFs) in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) for the presence of differential item functioning (DIF) relative to the original calibration sample.

Method: Using the Graded Response Model we compared item parameter estimates generated from a sample of 303 children and adolescents with CP (175 males, 128 females; mean age 15y 5mo) to parameter estimates from the PROMIS calibration sample, which served as the reference group. DIF was assessed in a two-step process using the item response theory-likelihood ratio-differential item functioning detection procedure.

Reliability and Validity of S3 Pressure Sensation as an Alternative to Deep Anal Pressure in Neurologic Classification of Persons With Spinal Cord Injury.

Objective: To determine whether pressure sensation at the S3 dermatome (a new test) could be used in place of deep anal pressure (DAP) to determine completeness of injury as part of the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury.

Design: Prospective, multicenter observational study.

Setting: U.

Clinical Utility and Psychometric Properties of the Traumatic Brain Injury Quality of Life Scale (TBI-QOL) in US Military Service Members.

Objective: To examine the clinical utility and psychometric properties of the Traumatic Brain Injury Quality of Life (TBI-QOL) scale in a US military population.

Participants: One hundred fifty-two US military service members (age: M = 34.3, SD = 9.

Stimulation targeting higher motor areas in stroke rehabilitation: A proof-of-concept, randomized, double-blinded placebo-controlled study of effectiveness and underlying mechanisms.

Purpose: To demonstrate, in a proof-of-concept study, whether potentiating ipsilesional higher motor areas (premotor cortex and supplementary motor area) augments and accelerates recovery associated with constraint induced movement.

Methods: In a randomized, double-blinded pilot clinical study, 12 patients with chronic stroke were assigned to receive anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) (n = 6) or sham (n = 6) to the ipsilesional higher motor areas during constraint-induced movement therapy. We assessed functional and neurophysiologic outcomes before and after 5 weeks of therapy.

Elevated body temperature is linked to fatigue in an Italian sample of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients.

Elevated body temperature was recently reported for the first time in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) relative to healthy controls. In addition, warmer body temperature was associated with worse fatigue. These findings are highly novel, may indicate a novel pathophysiology for MS fatigue, and therefore warrant replication in a geographically separate sample.

Improving clinical cognitive testing: report of the AAN Behavioral Neurology Section Workgroup.

Objective: To evaluate the evidence basis of single-domain cognitive tests frequently used by behavioral neurologists in an effort to improve the quality of clinical cognitive assessment.

Methods: Behavioral Neurology Section members of the American Academy of Neurology were surveyed about how they conduct clinical cognitive testing, with a particular focus on the Neurobehavioral Status Exam (NBSE). In contrast to general screening cognitive tests, an NBSE consists of tests of individual cognitive domains (e.

Ability of PROMIS Pediatric Measures to Detect Change in Children With Cerebral Palsy Undergoing Musculoskeletal Surgery.

Background: The Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) was developed to provide patient-reported outcome measures that are designed as being universally relevant across health conditions, low burden, and precise. A major problem for research and clinical practice in cerebral palsy (CP) is the void of outcomes instruments that are capable of evaluating the wide range of abilities and broad age spectrum inherent in this clinical population. Given the tremendous potential of PROMIS, the research questions for this study were "How do PROMIS pediatric computer adaptive tests and short forms detect change in children with CP following elective musculoskeletal surgery?" and "How do PROMIS instruments compare to the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Cerebral Palsy Module Version 3.

TBI-QOL: Development and Calibration of Item Banks to Measure Patient Reported Outcomes Following Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: To use a patient-centered approach or participatory action research design combined with advanced psychometrics to develop a comprehensive patient-reported outcomes (PRO) measurement system specifically for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). This TBI Quality-of-Life (TBI-QOL) measurement system expands the work of other large PRO measurement initiatives, that is, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System and the Neurology Quality-of-Life measurement initiative.

Setting: Five TBI Model Systems centers across the United States.

Breaking the news: A pilot study on patient perspectives of discussing prognosis after traumatic spinal cord injury.

Objective/background: In spinal cord injury (SCI) medicine, informing a patient with a neurologically complete SCI of the poor prognosis ("bad news") for significant neurological recovery (e.g. ambulation) is difficult.

Environmental barriers and supports to everyday participation: a qualitative insider perspective from people with disabilities.

Objective: To describe environmental factors that influence participation of people with disabilities.

Design: Constant comparative, qualitative analyses of transcripts from 36 focus groups across 5 research projects.

Setting: Home, community, work, and social participation settings.

Clinical and imaging assessment of cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis.

In patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), grey matter damage is widespread and might underlie many of the clinical symptoms, especially cognitive impairment. This relation between grey matter damage and cognitive impairment has been lent support by findings from clinical and MRI studies. However, many aspects of cognitive impairment in patients with MS still need to be characterised.

Evidence of significant central fatigue in patients with cancer-related fatigue during repetitive elbow flexions till perceived exhaustion.

Objective: To investigate whether fatigue induced by an intermittent motor task in patients with cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is more central or peripheral.

Methods: Ten patients with CRF who were off chemo and radiation therapies and 14 age-matched healthy controls were enrolled. Participants completed a Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) and performed a fatigue task consisting of intermittent elbow-flexion contractions at submaximal (40% maximal voluntary contraction) intensity till self-perceived exhaustion.

Assessing frontal behavioral syndromes and cognitive functions in traumatic brain injury.

This study examined the relationship between individual and family ratings on a measure of frontal behaviors using the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe). Additionally, this study investigated whether self-reported symptoms of frontal-lobe dysfunction correspond to neuropsychological performance, particularly those tests measuring executive functions. Thirty-three individuals with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and 19 healthy individuals completed the FrSBe and neuropsychological measures.