Natural history of recovery and long-term outcome in critically ill patients with brain injury.

Purpose Of Review: To increase knowledge of the natural history of recovery and long-term outcome following severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI).

Recent Findings: Recovery of consciousness and complex behaviors that presage subsequent functional recovery frequently occurs well beyond the first 7 days after injury, which is typically the time period widely used in the ICU for prognostic decision-making and establishing goals of care for. Similarly, recovery of functional independence occurs between 1 and 10 years postinjury in a substantial proportion of patients who do not recover command-following during the acute hospitalization.

Intent to Leave Associated More Strongly with Workplace Belonging Than Leadership Behaviors of Supervisor in Women Health Care Professionals.

The attrition of health care professionals from institutions has historically been high, with reports of higher rates in women than men. High attrition jeopardizes the institution's financial stability, quality of patient care, and scholarly contributions to advancing health care. The disproportionate loss of women reduces the diversity of perspectives and skills needed to meet patient needs.

Differences in Plasma BDNF Levels Between Chronic Primary Musculoskeletal Pain, Fibromyalgia Syndrome, and Asymptomatic Subjects: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This cross-sectional study compared plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels among chronic primary musculoskeletal pain patients, chronic widespread pain patients, and asymptomatic controls. The study included 126 participants aged 18-65, divided into three groups of 42 each. Pain intensity was assessed using a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and plasma BDNF levels were measured via ELISA.

Haptic Technology: Exploring Its Underexplored Clinical Applications-A Systematic Review.

Background/objectives: Haptic technology has transformed interactions between humans and both tangible and virtual environments. Despite its widespread adoption across various industries, the potential therapeutic applications of this technology have yet to be fully explored.

Methods: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and randomized crossover trials was conducted, utilizing databases such as PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science.

Adaptive Compensatory Neurophysiological Biomarkers of Motor Recovery Post-Stroke: Electroencephalography and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Insights from the DEFINE Cohort Study.

Objective: This study aimed to explore longitudinal relationships between neurophysiological biomarkers and upper limb motor function recovery in stroke patients, focusing on electroencephalography (EEG) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) metrics.

Methods: This longitudinal cohort study analyzed neurophysiological, clinical, and demographic data from 102 stroke patients enrolled in the DEFINE cohort. We investigated the associations between baseline and post-intervention changes in the EEG theta/alpha ratio (TAR) and TMS metrics with upper limb motor functionality, assessed using the outcomes of five tests: the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), Handgrip Strength Test (HST), Pinch Strength Test (PST), Finger Tapping Test (FTT), and Nine-Hole Peg Test (9HPT).

EEG Oscillations as Neuroplastic Markers of Neural Compensation in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation: The Role of Slow-Frequency Bands.

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects approximately 250,000 to 500,000 individuals annually. Current therapeutic interventions predominantly focus on mitigating the impact of physical and neurological impairments, with limited functional recovery observed in many patients. Electroencephalogram (EEG) oscillations have been investigated in this context of rehabilitation to identify effective markers for optimizing rehabilitation treatments.

Priority Clinical Actions for Outpatient Management of Nonhospitalized Traumatic Brain Injury.

Outpatient care following nonhospitalized traumatic brain injury (TBI) is variable, and often sparse. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's 2022 report on highlighted the need to improve the consistency and quality of TBI care in the community. In response, the present study aimed to identify existing evidence-based guidance and specific clinical actions over the days to months following nonhospitalized TBI that should be prioritized for implementation in primary care.

Comparative Analysis of Injury and Illness Rates Among Team USA Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Background: Previous research has reported higher rates of both injury and illness among Paralympic athletes compared with Olympic athletes during the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, but no studies have directly compared injury and illness incidence between Olympic and Paralympic athletes competing in a Summer Games.

Purpose: To compare injury and illness rates between Olympic and Paralympic Team USA athletes competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study.

Neural regulation of pain anticipation is associated with mindful behavior change in patients with anxiety or depression: A pilot study.

Behavior change often requires overcoming discomfort or difficult emotions. Emotional dysregulation associated with anxiety or depression may prevent behavior change initiation among people managing chronic illness. Mindfulness training may catalyze chronic disease self-management by reducing experiential avoidance of aversive experiences that act as barriers to change initiation.

Geographic Variation in Inpatient Rehabilitation Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: To determine whether regional variations exist in functional outcomes of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) admitted to inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) across the United States, while controlling for demographic and clinical variables.

Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) across 4 U.S.

Relationship between physical activity and biomarkers of pathology and neuroinflammation in preclinical autosomal-dominant Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: Physical activity (PA) has been linked to reduced Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk. However, less is known about its effects in the AD preclinical stage. We aimed to investigate whether greater PA was associated with lower plasma biomarkers of AD pathology, neural injury, reactive astrocytes, and better cognition in individuals with autosomal-dominant AD due to the presenilin-1 E280A mutation who are virtually guaranteed to develop dementia.

Video Game Therapy in a Neurosciences Critical Care Unit: A Pilot Study.

Background: Therapeutic activity after stroke is a component of early recovery strategies. Interactive video games have been shown to be safe as an adjunct rehabilitation therapy in the medical intensive care setting, but patients with neurologic disease were often excluded from those protocols.

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility and safety of individualized interactive video game therapy in critically ill neurologic patients.

Adults With Head and Neck Burns Experience Worse Long-Term Outcomes and Require More Reconstructive Surgeries: A Burn Model System Study.

Background: Adults living with head and neck burn injuries experience psychosocial consequences due to scarring as well as functional disabilities. However, the impact of head and neck burns on long-term self-reported psychosocial outcomes, return to work, and need for reconstructive surgery has not been well described. This study investigates the unique longitudinal problems in psychosocial and functional recovery faced by adults with head and neck burn injuries.

Establishing a Collaborative Genomic Repository for Adult Burn Survivors: A Burn Model System Feasibility Study.

In this study, we aimed to integrate a genetic repository with an existing longitudinal national burn database. We set out two primary objectives, namely (1) to develop standard operating procedures for genetic sample collection and storage, DNA isolation, and data integration into an existing multicenter database; and (2) to demonstrate the feasibility of correlating genetic variation to functional outcomes in a pilot study, using the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene. Dubbed the worrier/warrior gene, COMT variants have been associated with varying phenotypes of post-traumatic stress, wellbeing, and resilience.

REsource Support To Optimize REcovery (RESTORE) scoping review: Evaluating aftercare resources for burn survivors.

Background: Burn survivors report limited resources as they transition to their communities after initial hospitalization. The aim of this project is to review literature that identifies resources provided to burn survivors and their supporters after discharge to their communities.

Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used to examine the following literature databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, PsycInfo, and CINAHL.

Genome-Wide Network Analysis of DRG-Sciatic Nerve Network-Inferred Cellular Senescence and Senescence Phenotype in Peripheral Sensory Neurons.

Accumulation of senescent neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) is an important tissue phenotype that causes age-related degeneration of peripheral sensory nerves. Senescent neurons are neurons with arrested cell cycle that have undergone cellular senescence but remain in the tissue and play various biological roles. To understand the accumulation of senescent neurons in the DRG during aging, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism that induces cellular senescence in DRG neurons and the role of senescent DRG neurons.

The role of sympathetic control in bone vasculature: insights from spinal cord injury.

Bone vasculature is richly innervated by an extensive network of sympathetic nerves. However, our understanding of bone blood flow regulation and its contribution to human bone health is limited. Here, we further our previous findings by characterizing bone vascular responses in the absence of sympathetic control - studying individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), a population with known peripheral sympathetic disruption.

A tackler correctly adhering to the tackle instruction in a front-on, one-on-one torso tackle alters the peak inertial head kinematics of the ball carrier but not the tackler.

Objectives: To evaluate if the tackler correctly adhering, or not, to four different instructions of legal front-on one-on-one torso tackles altered the tackler and/or ball carrier peak inertial head kinematics.

Design: Controlled laboratory study.

Methods: Fifteen rugby-code players measured with three-dimensional optoelectronic motion capture performed two tackle instructions from the Australian National Rugby League coaching manual on under (Dominant National Rugby League) and over (Smother National Rugby League) the ball tackles, and two novel variants of these (under, Dominant, Torso Stick; over, Smother, Pop, Lock).

Pain can't be carved at the joints: defining function-based pain profiles and their relevance to chronic disease management in healthcare delivery design.

Background: Pain is a complex problem that is triaged, diagnosed, treated, and billed based on which body part is painful, almost without exception. While the "body part framework" guides the organization and treatment of individual patients' pain conditions, it remains unclear how to best conceptualize, study, and treat pain conditions at the population level. Here, we investigate (1) how the body part framework agrees with population-level, biologically derived pain profiles; (2) how do data-derived pain profiles interface with other symptom domains from a whole-body perspective; and (3) whether biologically derived pain profiles capture clinically salient differences in medical history.

Sex Differences and Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy Outcomes in Runners with Achilles or Hamstring Tendinopathy.

: Achilles and hamstring tendinopathies are common injuries in runners, and extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) may be an effective treatment. Runners are at risk for lower extremity tendinopathies and the Male and Female Athlete Triad (Triad). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association of sex, exposure to hormonal contraceptives, menopause, and Triad-related risk factors with ESWT outcomes in the treatment of Achilles and hamstring tendinopathy.

Remote Monitoring of Tai Chi Balance Training Interventions in Older Adults Using Wearable Sensors and Machine Learning.

Tai Chi, an Asian martial art, is renowned for its health benefits, particularly in promoting healthy aging among older adults, improving balance, and reducing fall risk. However, methodological challenges hinder the objective measurement of adherence to and proficiency in performing a training protocol, critical for health outcomes. This study introduces a framework using wearable sensors and machine learning to monitor Tai Chi training adherence and proficiency.

Traumatic Brain Injury and Risk of Incident Comorbidities.

Importance: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with chronic medical conditions. Evidence from diverse clinical administrative datasets may improve care delivery.

Objective: To characterize post-TBI risk of incident neuropsychiatric and medical conditions in a California health care system administrative database and validate findings from a Massachusetts dataset.