Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
-
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2000
Strength and physiological response to exercise in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.
To measure strength, aerobic exercise capacity and efficiency, and functional incapacity in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) who do not have a current psychiatric disorder. ⋯ Patients with CFS were weaker than sedentary and depressed controls and as unfit as sedentary controls. Low exercise capacity in patients with CFS was related to quadriceps muscle weakness, low physical fitness, and a high body mass ratio. Improved physical fitness after treatment was associated with increased exercise capacity. These data imply that physical deconditioning helps to maintain physical disability in CFS and that a treatment designed to reverse deconditioning helps to improve physical function.
-
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2000
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialImpact of botulinum toxin type A on disability and carer burden due to arm spasticity after stroke: a randomised double blind placebo controlled trial.
After stroke, abnormal arm posture due to spasticity in a functionally useless arm may interfere with self care tasks. In these patients botulinum toxin treatment presents an opportunity to reduce disability. The purpose was to investigate whether reduction in spasticity after botulinum toxin treatment translates into reduction in disability and carer burden. ⋯ BT-A is useful for treating patients with stroke who have self care difficulties due to arm spasticity. The decision to treat should also include relief of carer burden. As muscle weakness may occur, its potential impact on functional activities must be assessed before intervention.
-
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Aug 2000
Clinical TrialEmotional and cognitive consequences of head injury in relation to the glasgow outcome scale.
There is current debate over the issue of the best way of assessing outcome after head injury. One criticism of scales of disability and handicap such as the Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) is that they fail to capture the subjective perspective of the person with head injury. The aims of the study were to investigate aspects of the validity of structured interviews for the GOS, and address the issue of the relation between the GOS and subjective reports of health outcome. ⋯ The GOS and GOSE show consistent relations with other outcome measures including subjective reports of health outcome; they thus remain useful overall summary assessments of outcome of head injury.