Toward improving the specificity of perturbation-based training through assessment of dynamic balancing responses: a series of N-of-1 studies in subacute stroke.

Perturbation-based balance training (PBT) has been shown to improve reactive balancing abilities in chronic stroke. To inform future investigations in the subacute phase of stroke, the objective of this series of N-of-1 studies was to investigate the range of balancing responses to unexpected mechanical perturbations applied to the pelvis during walking on an instrumented treadmill before and after PBT training. Three subacute stroke subjects were assessed on each occasion with clinical tests and biomechanical measurements following perturbations applied in forward, backward, inward and outward directions.

Switching to Denosumab or Bisphosphonates After Completion of Teriparatide Treatment in Women With Severe Postmenopausal Osteoporosis.

Objective: To compare bone mineral density (BMD) changes after 12 months of treatment with denosumab or bisphosphonates in postmenopausal women with severe osteoporosis after stopping teriparatide therapy.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 140 postmenopausal women (mean age, 74.2 years) with severe osteoporosis who had been treated with teriparatide for 18 to 24 months at our outpatient clinic in a tertiary endocrine center between 2006 and 2015.

Rasch validation and comparison of the German versions of the Locomotor Capabilities Index-5 and Prosthetic Mobility Questionnaire 2.0 in lower-limb prosthesis users.

This study aimed to compare, through Rasch analysis, the psychometric properties of the Locomotor Capabilities Index (LCI-5) and Prosthetic Mobility Questionnaire (PMQ 2.0) in German lower-limb prosthesis users. The questionnaires were concurrently administered to a convenience sample of 98 consecutively recruited individuals with lower limb amputation (LLA) (male/female = 61/37; mean age 57 ± 14 years).

Measurement properties of the L Test with fast walking speed in patients after lower limb amputation in initial prosthetic training phase.

The L Test is a clinical mobility test used in patients after lower limb amputation. To assess dynamic balance, it should be performed with fast walking speed. Its measurement properties in the initial prosthetic training phase are not known yet.

Limited diagnostic utility of partially successful adrenal vein sampling for primary aldosteronism subtyping.

Introduction: Failure of adrenal vein sampling (AVS) due to difficult cannulation of the right adrenal vein (AV) frequently precludes subtyping of patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) before adrenalectomy. According to a recent study, lateralized PA could be accurately predicted from partial AVS data based on the gradient of the aldosterone-to-cortisol ratios (ACR) between left AV and inferior vena cava (IVC) (LAV/IVC index). We aimed to validate the diagnostic utility of this index for PA subtyping in our cohort.

Natural history of nonfunctioning adrenal incidentalomas: a 10-year longitudinal follow-up study.

Most data on the natural history of nonfunctioning adrenal incidentalomas (NFAI) are provided by follow-ups up to 5 years. We conducted a 10.5 (9.

Fall risk classification for people with lower extremity amputations using random forests and smartphone sensor features from a 6-minute walk test.

Fall-risk classification is a challenging but necessary task to enable the recommendation of preventative programs for individuals identified at risk for falling. Existing research has primarily focused on older adults, with no predictive fall-risk models for lower limb amputees, despite their greater likelihood of fall-risk than older adults. In this study, 89 amputees with varying degrees of lower limb amputation were asked if they had fallen in the past 6 months.

Berg balance scale as a tool for choosing the walking aid for patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome or polyneuropathy.

Berg balance scale (BBS) is a widely used outcome measure in rehabilitation. We wanted to check if it can discriminate among levels of use of walking aid in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome or polyneuropathy. A retrospective audit of 109 such patients (aged 16-85 years) who had completed inpatient rehabilitation in the period 2012-2017 was conducted.

Exergaming as Part of the Telerehabilitation Can Be Adequate to the Outpatient Training: Preliminary Findings of a Non-randomized Pilot Study in Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease is a long-term and progressive degenerative disorder of the nervous system, affecting primarily motor coordination, noticeable as a tremor in one hand. Recent studies reported on positive outcomes of intensive physiotherapy of upper extremities. We built a telerehabilitation system with virtual pick and place tasks for small scale hand movements, and designed a pilot study to find whether such exergaming as a telerehabilitation service provides comparable outcomes as an outpatient exergaming service.

High-density electromyography biofeedback during robotic wrist exercises for reducing co-activation of antagonist muscles: a case report.

High-density (HD) electrodes have been introduced in research and diagnostic electromyography. Recent advances in technology offer an opportunity for using the HDEMG signal as biofeedback in stroke rehabilitation. The purpose of this case study was to test the feasibility of using two 5 × 13 electrode arrays for providing real-time HDEMG biofeedback and the preliminary outcome of combining HDEMG biofeedback with robotic wrist exercises over 4 weeks in a person who suffered a stroke 26 months earlier.

A new valid Walking Aid Scale better predicts distance walked by prosthesis users than Prosthetic Mobility Questionnaire 2.0 and Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale.

The availability of psychometrically-sound and parsimonious outcome measures is key for optimizing decision-making about prosthetic fitting and rehabilitation in lower limb prosthesis users. Despite the increasing clinical use of observational and self-reported scales for assessing mobility and balance, there is currently no scale that accounts for the use of assistive devices while walking under conditions of increasing difficulty. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and validate a Walking Aid Scale (WAS) in a cross-sectional sample of 144 prosthesis users.

Wide Skis As a Potential Knee Injury Risk Factor in Alpine Skiing.

Alpine skis with wider waist widths have recently become more popular. With such skis, the contact point of the ground reaction force during ski turns is displaced more medially from beneath the sole of the outer ski, which may present an increased risk of injury. The aim of this study was to investigate knee joint kinetics, kinematics, and lower limb muscle activation as a function of changes of the ski waist width in a laboratory setting.

Sociodemographic predictors of pain in old people : Serbian population-based study.

Background: With the growing increase in the older proportion of the world population, there is also an increase in specific age-related chronic diseases and conditions, including pain. We aimed to evaluate the association of sociodemographic factors with the presence and different degrees of pain intensity in people aged 65 years and older.

Methods: The population-based study, conducted in 2013, included 3540 individuals from Serbia.

Validation of the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale With 5-Option Response Format in Slovene Lower-Limb Prosthetic Users.

Objective: To examine the psychometric properties of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale administered in the Slovene version with a simplified 5-option response format (ABC-5/SLO) using Rasch analysis.

Design: Methodological research on data gathered in a cross-sectional study.

Setting: Outpatient university rehabilitation clinic.

Detection and evaluation of haemophilic arthropathy: Which tools may be considered more reliable.

Introduction: Progressive arthropathy is the main cause of morbidity in patients with severe haemophilia. Diagnostic imaging can detect even subclinical arthropathy and impact prophylactic treatment. However, in most clinical settings the regular joint evaluation and follow-up are based on clinical evaluation and patient's personal reporting of problems, while diagnostic imaging is not regularly employed.

Centre of Pressure Estimation during Walking Using Only Inertial-Measurement Units and End-To-End Statistical Modelling.

Estimation of the centre of pressure (COP) is an important part of the gait analysis, for example, when evaluating the functional capacity of individuals affected by motor impairment. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) and force sensors are commonly used to measure gait characteristic of healthy and impaired subjects. We present a methodology for estimating the COP solely from raw gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer data from IMUs using statistical modelling.

Effect of Robot-Assisted Gait Training on Selective Voluntary Motor Control in Ambulatory Children with Cerebral Palsy.

This pilot study investigated the efficacy of a four week robot-assisted gait training in twelve children with spastic diparesis. Short-term results and a 3-month follow-up showed statistically significantly increased selective motor control, walking farther distances, gross motor score, and decreased joint contractures.

The associations between nutritional and functional status during recovery from Guillain-Barré syndrome: a retrospective study.

Patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) are at high risk for inadequate nutrition throughout their illness, yet the wider impact of malnutrition in this population remains unknown. Thus, the purpose of our study was to investigate the associations between nutritional status and functional status at admission to inpatient rehabilitation for GBS and to determine whether the admission phase angle, a biological marker of cellular health, is a prognostic indicator of functional improvement at the end of rehabilitation. The study included 27 participants recovering from GBS who screened positive for nutritional risk upon admission to rehabilitation.

Consistency of neuropsychological and driving simulator assessment after neurological impairment.

Deficits in attentional and executive functioning may interfere with driving ability and result in a lower level of fitness to drive. Studies show mixed results in relation to the consistency of neuropsychological and driving simulator assessment. The objective of this study was to investigate the consistency of both types of assessment.

Adrenal vein sampling for primary aldosteronism: a 15-year national referral center experience.

Background Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is essential for diagnostics of primary aldosteronism, distinguishing unilateral from bilateral disease and determining treatment options. We reviewed the performance of AVS for primary aldosteronism at our center during first 15 years, comparing the initial period to the period after the introduction of a dedicated radiologist. Additionally, AVS outcomes were checked against CT findings and the proportion of operated patients with proven unilateral disease was estimated.

Biomechanics of In-Stance Balancing Responses Following Outward-Directed Perturbation to the Pelvis During Very Slow Treadmill Walking Show Complex and Well-Orchestrated Reaction of Central Nervous System.

Multiple strategies may be used when counteracting loss of balance during walking. Placing the foot onto a new location is not efficient when walking speed is very low. Instead medio-lateral displacement of center-of-pressure, rotation of body segments to produce a lateral ground-reaction-force, and pronounced braking of movement in the plane of progression is used.

A comparison of three balance-assessment scales for patients after stroke with various levels of balance disorder.

It is often difficult for the clinician to choose the most appropriate balance-assessment measure. We wanted to facilitate this decision based on the stroke patient's functional abilities. The aim of our study was to compare three established scales [Berg Balance Scale (BBS), mini-BESTest (MBT) and Functional Gait Assessment (FGA)] in terms of responsiveness, floor and ceiling effects at different levels of ambulation as defined by the Functional Ambulation Classification (FAC).

The prevalence and characteristics of non-functioning and autonomous cortisol secreting adrenal incidentaloma after patients' stratification by body mass index and age.

Background: The escalating prevalence of adrenal incidentaloma (AI) has been associated with the improvement of radiologic techniques and widespread imaging in aging population. It is currently unclear whether patients with obesity more likely develop AI and the current rise in the prevalence of AI could be at least partly associated with the respective rise in obesity. We compared the prevalence and characteristics of non-functional (NF) and autonomous cortisol secreting (ACS) adrenal incidentalomas (AIs) after the study population was stratified by different body mass indexes (BMI) and age groups.

Assessment of dynamic balancing responses following perturbations during slow walking in relation to clinical outcome measures for high-functioning post-stroke subjects.

Background: Generating appropriate balancing reactions in response to unexpected loss of balance during walking is important to prevent falls. The purpose of this study was to assess dynamic balancing responses following pushes to the pelvis in groups of post-stroke and healthy subjects.

Methods: Forty-one post-stroke subjects and forty-three healthy subjects participated in the study.