NeuroRehabilitation - Volume 41, issue 4

Authors: Dujović, Suzana Dedijer | Malešević, Jovana | Malešević, Nebojša | Vidaković, Aleksandra S. | Bijelić, Goran | Keller, Thierry | Konstantinović, Ljubica

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Foot drop is common gait impairment after stroke. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) of the ankle dorsiflexor muscles during the swing phase of gait can help correcting foot drop. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate efficacy of additional novel FES system to conventional therapy in facilitating motor recovery in the lower extremities and improving walking ability after stroke. METHODS: Sixteen stroke patients were randomly allocated to the FES group (FES therapy plus conventional rehabilitation program) (n  = 8), and control group (conventional rehabilitation program) n  = 8. FES was delivered for 30 min during gait to induce ankle plantar and dorsiflexion. Main …outcome measures: gait speed using 10 Meter Walk Test (10 MWT), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and modified Barthel Index (MBI). RESULTS: Results showed a significant increase in gait speed in FES group (p  < 0.001), higher than the minimal detected change. The FES group showed improvement in functional independence in the activities of daily living, motor recovery and gait performance. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that novel FES therapy combined with conventional rehabilitation is more effective on walking speed, mobility of the lower extremity, balance disability and activities of daily living compared to a conventional rehabilitation program only. Show more

Keywords: Foot drop, FES, stroke

DOI: 10.3233/NRE-172153

Citation: NeuroRehabilitation, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 791-800, 2017

Authors: Hochsprung, Anja | Domínguez-Matito, Angeles | López-Hervás, Antonia | Herrera-Monge, Patricia | Moron-Martin, Santos | Ariza-Martínez, Carmen | Granja-Dominguez, Anabel | Heredia-Rizo, Alberto M.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To compare the short and medium-term effectiveness of combining Kinesio Tape (KT) or neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) with a conventional approach to prevent shoulder pain after stroke. METHODS: Thirty-one first-time stroke survivors (58.06% females) were recruited and randomly assigned to one group; Control (n  = 10), KT (n  = 11), or NMES (n  = 10). Ten of all participants were lost during follow-up because of death or a second stroke. The control group underwent conventional treatment (careful shoulder handling and daily mobilizations). This approach was combined with KT or NMES over deltoid muscles in the KT and NMES groups respectively. …Measurements were taken at baseline, and at weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, and 24 post-stroke. Data collected included self-perceived shoulder pain (Visual Analogue Scale), disability (Barthel Index and Berg scale), and upper limb function (Action Research Arm test). RESULTS: In all groups, shoulder pain did not appear during the first month (p  < 0.001), but increased afterwards. In the between-groups analysis, all groups similarly improved disability and function, and no significant differences were observed for any measure (p  > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The combination of KT or NMES with conventional treatment is no superior to conventional treatment alone to prevent hemiplegic shoulder pain. Show more

Keywords: Disability, hemiplegia, pain assessment, shoulder pain, stroke

DOI: 10.3233/NRE-172190

Citation: NeuroRehabilitation, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 801-810, 2017

Authors: Schlüter, Kathrin | Maier, Josephina | Patra, Stefan | Gold, Stefan M. | Heesen, Christoph | Schulz, Karl-Heinz

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The peak blood lactate response to an exhaustive exercise test in a number of chronic conditions has been shown to differ from that seen in healthy, untrained individuals. However, this has not been investigated for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). OBJECTIVE: The main objective was to determine and compare the peak blood lactate response to exercise and the maximal workload between two groups of MS patients with different illness severity. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with a relapsing-remitting disease course (Group RR) and 41 patients with a secondary- or primary chronic progressive disease course (group CP) performed …an exhaustive incremental bicycle ergometry. Peak blood lactate, maximal workload, peak oxygen consumption and maximal heart rate were measured. RESULTS: The peak blood lactate levels and maximal workload differed significantly between the groups (group CP < group RR; p  < 0.001). Furthermore spiroergometric peak performance markers in both groups were significantly lower than predicted for healthy age and sex matched untrained groups. CONCLUSION: A reduced peak blood lactate response to exercise is a novel finding for MS patients. This calls into doubt if the lactate performance tests and lactate thresholds used for healthy individuals can be transferred to MS patients. Show more

Keywords: Exercise, multiple sclerosis, peak blood lactate, maximal workload

DOI: 10.3233/NRE-172182

Citation: NeuroRehabilitation, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 811-822, 2017

Authors: Al-Jarrah, Muhammed D. | Erekat, Nour S.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: We have shown elevated levels of p53 and active caspase-3 in gastrocnemius skeletal muscle with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The main aim of this study is to examine the impact of endurance exercise training on the expression of p53 and active caspase-3 in the skeletal muscle of mouse with induced Parkinsonism. METHODS: Sedentary control (SC), sedentary Parkinson diseased (SPD), and exercised Parkinson diseased (EPD) groups were formed; each consisting of 10 randomly selected normal albino mice. Chronic Parkinson disease was induced in the SPD and EPD animals using 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine and probenecid (MPTP/p). The expression of p53 and active …caspase-3 was investigated, using immunohistochemistry, in the gastrocnemius muscle in each animal group. RESULTS: Both p53 and active caspase-3 expression was significantly (p value < 0.05) reduced in the PD gastrocnemius skeletal muscle following endurance exercise training. CONCLUSION: Our present data suggest that chronic exercise training reduced Parkinson disease-induced upregulation of p53 and active caspase-3 in gastrocnemius skeletal muscle. Thus, our study suggests that inhibiting p53 and/or active caspase-3 may be considered as a therapeutic approach to ameliorate PD skeletal muscle abnormalities. Show more

Keywords: Parkinson disease, MPTP, skeletal muscles, active caspase-3, p53, exercise

DOI: 10.3233/NRE-172196

Citation: NeuroRehabilitation, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 823-830, 2017

Article Type: Correction

DOI: 10.3233/NRE-171480

Citation: NeuroRehabilitation, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 831-831, 2017

Article Type: Correction

DOI: 10.3233/NRE-171481

Citation: NeuroRehabilitation, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 833-833, 2017