NeuroRehabilitation
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NeuroRehabilitation · Jan 2013
Comparative StudyCerebral activation evoked by the mirror illusion of the hand in stroke patients compared to normal subjects.
Mirror therapy (MT) was found to improve motor function after stroke, but its neural mechanisms remain unclear, especially in single stroke patients. ⋯ In summary, the mirror illusion can elicit cerebral activation contralateral to the perceived hand in the majority of single normal subjects, but not in all of them. This is similar even in stroke patients with severe hemiparesis.
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NeuroRehabilitation · Jan 2013
Study of accent-based music speech protocol development for improving voice problems in stroke patients with mixed dysarthria.
Based on the anatomical and functional commonality between singing and speech, various types of musical elements have been employed in music therapy research for speech rehabilitation. This study was to develop an accent-based music speech protocol to address voice problems of stroke patients with mixed dysarthria. Subjects were 6 stroke patients with mixed dysarthria and they received individual music therapy sessions. ⋯ Also, there were statistically significant differences in the measures of shimmer, and alternating motion rates (AMR) of the syllable /K$\inve$/ between pre- and post-test. The results indicated that the accent-based music speech protocol may improve speech motor coordination including respiration, phonation, articulation, resonance, and prosody of patients with dysarthria. This suggests the possibility of utilizing the music speech protocol to maximize immediate treatment effects in the course of a long-term treatment for patients with dysarthria.
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NeuroRehabilitation · Jan 2013
Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement in left versus right middle cerebral artery stroke: effects of laterality.
Prolonged dysphagia after middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory strokes may require percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube feeding. ⋯ Admission NIHSS score, in-hospital aspiration pneumonia and inability to undergo first swallow evaluation may predict PEG placement in patients with acute MCA stroke. Stroke laterality was not associated. This knowledge facilitates early identification of patients that may require PEG tube placement for early nutrition provision and discharge to rehabilitation.
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NeuroRehabilitation · Jan 2013
Improved motor performance in chronic spinal cord injury following upper-limb robotic training.
Recovering upper-limb motor function has important implications for improving independence of patients with tetraplegia after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). ⋯ Robotic-assisted training of the upper limb over six weeks is a feasible and safe intervention that can enhance movement kinematics without negatively affecting pain or spasticity in chronic SCI. In addition, robot-assisted devices are an excellent tool to quantify motor performance (kinematics) and can be used to sensitively measure changes after a given rehabilitative intervention.
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NeuroRehabilitation · Jan 2013
Kinect Xbox 360 as a therapeutic modality for children with cerebral palsy in a school environment: a preliminary study.
Limited evidence is available about the effectiveness of virtual reality using low cost commercial consoles for children with developmental delay. ⋯ Low cost video games based on motion capture are potential tools in the rehabilitation context in children with CP. Our Kinect Xbox 360 protocol has showed improvements in balance and ADL in CP participants in a school environment, but further studies are need to validate the potential benefits of these video game systems as a supplement for rehabilitation of children with CP.