Foot and ankle somatosensory deficits in children with cerebral palsy: A pilot study.

Purpose: To investigate foot and ankle somatosensory function in children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods: Ten children with spastic diplegia (age 15 ± 5 y; GMFCS I-III) and 11 typically developing (TD) peers (age 15 ± 10 y) participated in the study. Light touch pressure and two-point discrimination were assessed on the plantar side of the foot by using a monofilament kit and an aesthesiometer, respectively.

Associations between religious and spiritual variables and neuroimmune activity in survivors of breast cancer: a feasibility study.

Purpose: Chronic stress is associated with neuroimmune inflammation and adverse outcomes in breast cancer survivors. Some breast cancer survivors rely on religious and spiritual (R/S) variables to manage stress after breast cancer treatment. A spiritually based psychoneuroimmunological (PNI) model of health suggests that R/S variables influence neuroimmune activity; however, these associations are not well-established.

Toward Improving the Prediction of Functional Ambulation After Spinal Cord Injury Through the Inclusion of Limb Accelerations During Sleep and Personal Factors.

Objective: To determine if functional measures of ambulation can be accurately classified using clinical measures; demographics; personal, psychosocial, and environmental factors; and limb accelerations (LAs) obtained during sleep among individuals with chronic, motor incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) in an effort to guide future, longitudinal predictions models.

Design: Cross-sectional, 1-5 days of data collection.

Setting: Community-based data collection.

Lower extremity fracture prevention and management in persons with spinal cord injuries and disorders: The patient perspective.

Context/objective: To describe patient experiences with fracture prevention and management among persons with spinal cord injuries/disorders (SCI/D).

Design: Qualitative data collected via semi-structured telephone interviews.

Setting: Veterans Health Administration (VA) SCI/D System of Care.

The influence of physiologic and atmospheric variables on spasticity after spinal cord injury.

Background: A number of physiological and atmospheric variables are believed to increase spasticity in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) based on self-reported measures, however, there is limited objective evidence about the influence of these variables on spasticity.

Objective: We investigated the relationship between physiological/ atmospheric variables and level of spasticity in individuals with SCI.

Methods: In 53 participants with motor-incomplete SCI, we assessed the influence of age, time since injury, sex, injury severity, neurological level of injury, ability to walk, antispasmodic medication use, temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure on quadriceps spasticity.

Combined Transcutaneous Spinal Stimulation and Locomotor Training to Improve Walking Function and Reduce Spasticity in Subacute Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized Study of Clinical Feasibility and Efficacy.

Locomotor training (LT) is intended to improve walking function and can also reduce spasticity in motor-incomplete spinal cord injury (MISCI). Transcutaneous spinal stimulation (TSS) also influences these outcomes. We assessed feasibility and preliminary efficacy of combined LT + TSS during inpatient rehabilitation in a randomized, sham-controlled, pragmatic study.

Relationship of patient characteristics and inpatient rehabilitation services to 5-year outcomes following spinal cord injury: A follow up of the SCIRehab project.

Objective: To examine associations of patient characteristics and treatment quantity delivered during inpatient spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation with outcomes at 5 years post-injury and compare them to the associations found at 1 year post-injury.

Design: Observational study using Practice-Based Evidence research methodology in which clinicians documented treatment details. Regression modeling was used to predict outcomes.

Barriers and Facilitators to Employment: A Comparison of Participants With Multiple Sclerosis and Spinal Cord Injury.

Objective: To compare self-reported barriers and facilitators to employment among employed and unemployed participants with multiple sclerosis (MS) and spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Cross-sectional study using self-report assessment obtained by mail or online.

Setting: Medical university in the southeastern United States.

Use of mHealth Technology for Patient-Reported Outcomes in Community-Dwelling Adults with Acquired Brain Injuries: A Scoping Review.

The purpose of our scoping review was to describe the current use of mHealth technology for long-term assessment of patient-reported outcomes in community-dwelling individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI). Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a scoping review of literature meeting these criteria: (1) civilians or military veterans, all ages; (2) self-reported or caregiver-reported outcomes assessed via mobile device in the community (not exclusively clinic/hospital); (3) published in English; (4) published in 2015-2019. We searched Ovid MEDLINE(R) < 1946 to 16 August 2019, MEDLINE InProcess, EPub, Embase, and PsycINFO databases for articles.

The Librarian Reserve Corps: An Emergency Response.

The Librarian Reserve Corps (LRC) is a volunteer network of medical, health sciences, and public health librarians who have responded to the urgent need for public health information during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis. The LRC was first formed to assist with the indexing of daily publication lists distributed within the World Health Organization's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). With the explosion of information related to COVID-19 beginning in December 2019, librarians have brought critical skills and experience to the response, providing comprehensive literature searching and indexing to COVID-19 research publications.

Commentary: Remote assessments of gait and balance - Implications for research during and beyond Covid-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted non-essential in-person research activities that require contact with human subjects. While guidelines are being developed for ramping up human subjects research, one component of research that can be performed remotely is participant screening for lower limb function and gait impairments. In this commentary, we summarize evidence-supported clinical assessments that have potential to be conducted remotely in a safe manner, to make an initial determination of the functional mobility status of persons with neurological disorders.

Safety and Feasibility of Various Functional Electrical Stimulation Cycling Protocols in Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis Who Are Nonambulatory.

Objective: To examine the safety, feasibility, and response to functional electrical stimulation (FES) cycling protocols requiring differing levels of effort in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are nonambulatory.

Design: Pilot study with pre-post intervention testing.

Setting: Outpatient clinic setting of a long-term acute care hospital.

Alterations in Resting-State Functional Brain Connectivity and Correlations with Vestibular/Ocular-Motor Screening Measures in Postconcussion Vestibular Dysfunction.

Background And Purpose: Vestibular symptoms after concussion are common and associated with protracted recovery. The purpose of this study is to define resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) brain connectivity alterations in patients with postconcussion vestibular dysfunction (PCVD) and correlations between rs-fMRI connectivity and symptoms provoked during Vestibular/Ocular-Motor Screening (VOMS) assessment.

Methods: Prospective IRB approved study.

Library consultations and a global pandemic: An analysis of consultation difficulty during COVID-19 across multiple factors.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between librarians' perception of the difficulty of patron consultations and a variety of factors that characterize these interactions in the context of an academic library at a large public university. The study also provides insight into how changes in library service operations due to the global COVID-19 pandemic have affected the perceived difficulty of library consultations. Data samples were drawn from a LibInsight dataset and limited to consultations from Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 (N = 3331).

Predicting military readiness using objective and subjective indices of neuropsychological impairment in service members with mild traumatic brain injury.

The military is interested in identifying factors to improve the readiness of service members with traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI outcome studies have primarily used objective neuropsychological data interpreted using the absolute level of functioning (i.e.

Meeting Proceedings for SCI 2020: Launching a Decade of Disruption in Spinal Cord Injury Research.

The spinal cord injury (SCI) research community has experienced great advances in discovery research, technology development, and promising clinical interventions in the past decade. To build upon these advances and maximize the benefit to persons with SCI, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) hosted a conference February 12-13, 2019 titled "SCI 2020: Launching a Decade of Disruption in Spinal Cord Injury Research." The purpose of the conference was to bring together a broad range of stakeholders, including researchers, clinicians and healthcare professionals, persons with SCI, industry partners, regulators, and funding agency representatives to break down existing communication silos.

Fear of Falling, Community Participation, and Quality of Life Among Community-Dwelling People Who Use Wheelchairs Full Time.

Objectives: To examine the differences in community participation and quality of life (QOL) among individuals who use wheelchairs full time with and without fear of falling (FOF).

Design: Cross-sectional study design.

Setting: University research laboratory.

Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Posthospital Brain Injury Rehabilitation Providers.

Rehabilitation after significant acquired brain injury (ABI) to address complex independent activities of daily living and return to family and community life is offered primarily after initial hospitalization in outpatient day treatment, group home, skilled nursing, and residential settings and in the home and community of the person served. The coronavirus 2019 pandemic threatened access to care and the health and safety of staff, persons served, and families in these settings. This article describes steps taken to contain this threat by 7 leading posthospital ABI rehabilitation organizations.

A Retrospective Study of Demographic, Medical, and Psychological Predictors of Readiness in Service Members With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Introduction: Given the significant number of service members who have incurred mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) over the past two decades, this study was completed to determine the relative contribution of demographic, TBI-related, and psychological factors that predict the readiness of service members with primarily mild TBI.

Methods And Materials: This retrospective study included 141 service members who were evaluated at an outpatient military TBI rehabilitation clinic. Information regarding demographics, TBI-related variables, and psychological factors was collected and entered into hierarchical multinomial logistic regressions to predict military work status.

Clinician Perceptions of Robotic Exoskeletons for Locomotor Training After Spinal Cord Injury: A Qualitative Approach.

Objective: To describe the experiences of clinicians who have used robotic exoskeletons in their practice and acquire information that can guide clinical decisions and training strategies related to robotic exoskeletons.

Design: Qualitative, online survey study, and 4 single-session focus groups followed by thematic analysis to define themes.

Setting: Focus groups were conducted at 3 regional rehabilitation hospitals and 1 Veteran's Administration (VA) Medical Center.

Estimating minimal clinically important differences for two scales in patients with chronic traumatic brain injury.

Background: This study aimed to establish the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the Fugl-Meyer Motor Scale (FMMS) and the Disability Rating Scale (DRS) to evaluate interventions in patients with motor deficits in the chronic phase after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: MCIDs were established with a structured expert consultation process, the RAND/UCLA modified Delphi method. This process consisted of a literature review and input from a 10-person, multidisciplinary expert panel.

Technology-enhanced visual desensitization home exercise program for post-concussive visually induced dizziness: a case series.

Purpose: Post-concussive visually induced dizziness (VID), in which symptoms are provoked by exposure to complex visual motion, is associated with protracted recovery. Although vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) is recommended to treat post-concussive dizziness, there is sparse literature reporting on specific VRT interventions treating VID.

Methods: A consecutive series of 26 individuals referred for VRT post-concussion were retrospectively assessed for inclusion in this case series.

Users with spinal cord injury experience of robotic Locomotor exoskeletons: a qualitative study of the benefits, limitations, and recommendations.

Background: Persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) may experience both psychological and physiological benefits from robotic locomotor exoskeleton use, and knowledgeable users may have valuable perspectives to inform future development. The objective of this study is to gain insight into the experiences, perspectives, concerns, and suggestions on the use of robotic locomotor exoskeletons by civilians and veterans living with SCI.

Methods: Participants reported their demographic characteristics and the extent of robotic exoskeleton use in an online survey.