NeuroRehabilitation
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NeuroRehabilitation · Jan 2012
Upper extremity function and its relation with hand sensation and upper extremity strength in patients with multiple sclerosis.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the upper extremity functions, upper extremity strength and hand sensation in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Twenty-two patients with MS (mean age: 38.5 ± 8.31 years, median Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS): 2) and 10 healthy subjects were included. Upper extremity function was measured with the Nine-hole peg test, upper extremity strength (shoulder flexion-abduction, elbow flexion, pinch and grip) with hand-held dynamometer, hand grip dynamometer and manual pinch meter, threshold of light touch-pressure with Semmes-Weinstein monofilament, duration of vibration with 128-Hz frequency tuning fork, and distance of two-point discrimination with an aesthesiometer. ⋯ These results indicate that the hand sensation, upper extremity strength and function were affected in MS patients. Additionally upper extremity functions seem to be related with light touch-pressure and two-point discrimination sensations of the hand and elbow flexion strength. Upper extremity strengthening and sensorial training of the hand may contribute to the upper extremity function in patients with MS.
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NeuroRehabilitation · Jan 2012
Predictors of long-term health-related quality of life in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
To determine the predictive value of physical and psychological factors assessed three months after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) for health-related quality of life (HRQoL) one year after the SAH. ⋯ Female gender, cognitive complaints, cognitive functioning and passive coping style assessed at 3 months after SAH are important predictors of HRQoL 1 year after SAH. Early interventions to improve cognitive and emotional functioning should be evaluated for their ability to improve long-term HRQoL after SAH.
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Tremendous advances in neuroimaging methods and analytic techniques hold great promise in providing the rehabilitation clinician with a much greater understanding of brain pathology and its potential influence on rehabilitation outcome. This special issues of NeuroRehabilitation overviews the field. Contemporary neuroimaging methods are reviewed specifically in traumatic brain injury (TBI), anoxic brain injury (ABI) and stroke. Innovative methods combined with standard quantitative metrics and traditional clinical assessment provide the rehabilitation clinician with multiple methods to best understand the nature and extent on underlying neuropathology and how to use this information in guiding rehabilitation therapies and predicting outcome.
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NeuroRehabilitation · Jan 2012
Case ReportsNeural connection between injured cingulum and pedunculopontine nucleus in a patient with traumatic brain injury.
We report on a patient with traumatic brain injury who showed neural connection between injured cingulum and pedunculopontine nucleus on diffusion tensor tractography (DTT). A 74-year-old male who had suffered a traffic accident underwent conservative management for subarachnoid haemorrhage. Brain MRI which was performed 6 months after onset showed no specific lesions. ⋯ However, the left cingulum was connected to the left PPN via a neural tract that passed through the anterior corona radiata and thalamus. The neural connection between the injured cingulum and PPN seems to be a compensatory phenomenon for the destruction of cholinergic pathways from basal forebrain. We believe that this result might suggest one of recovery mechanisms of injured cingulum following brain injury.
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NeuroRehabilitation · Jan 2012
Relationship between the modified Rankin Scale and the Barthel Index in the process of functional recovery after stroke.
The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and the Barthel Index (BI) are the most common clinimetrical instruments for measuring disability after stroke. This study investigated the relationship between the BI and the mRS at multiple time points after stroke. The BI, which is a widely used instrument for longitudinal follow-up post-stroke, was used as reference to determine the effect of time on the sensitivity of the mRS in differentiating functional recovery. ⋯ Maximum sensitivity of mRS in differentiating functional recovery is reached at six months post-stroke.