Neurorehabilitation and neural repair
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Neurorehabil Neural Repair · Mar 2018
Evidence for Differential Effects of 2 Forms of Exercise on Prefrontal Plasticity During Walking in Parkinson's Disease.
In a randomized control trial conducted in patients with Parkinson's disease, a treadmill training program combined with virtual reality that targeted motor and cognitive aspects of safe ambulation led to fewer falls, compared with treadmill training alone. ⋯ Prefrontal activation during usual and during more challenging walking conditions can be altered in response to 2 different types of training. The addition of a cognitive training component to a treadmill exercise program apparently modifies the effects of the training on the magnitude and lateralization of prefrontal activation and on falls, extending the understanding of the plasticity of the brain in PD.
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Neurorehabil Neural Repair · Feb 2018
Differential White Matter Regional Alterations in Motor Subtypes of Early Drug-Naive Parkinson's Disease Patients.
Parkinson's disease (PD) can be classified into tremor dominant (TD) and postural instability and gait difficulty (PIGD) subtypes with TD considered as the benign subtype. The neural alterations of the 2 subtypes in the early stages before administration of medications remain elusive. ⋯ TD patients showed regionally increased FA but decreased diffusivities, implying neural reorganization to compensate PD pathology in early stages. PIGD patients, despite having similar disease stages and duration, exhibited more WM degradation. These results demonstrate differential WM regional features between the 2 subtypes in early PD and support the notion of TD being a benign subtype.
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Neurorehabil Neural Repair · Jan 2018
Serum Albumin Predicts Long-Term Neurological Outcomes After Acute Spinal Cord Injury.
There is a need to identify reliable biomarkers of spinal cord injury recovery for clinical practice and clinical trials. ⋯ In spinal cord injury, serum albumin is an independent marker of long-term neurological outcomes. Serum albumin could serve as a feasible biomarker for prognosis at the time of injury and stratification in clinical trials.
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Neurorehabil Neural Repair · Oct 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialEffects of Training Intensity on Locomotor Performance in Individuals With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized Crossover Study.
Many physical interventions can improve locomotor function in individuals with motor incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI), although the training parameters that maximize recovery are not clear. Previous studies in individuals with other neurologic injuries suggest the intensity of locomotor training (LT) may positively influence walking outcomes. However, the effects of intensity during training of individuals with iSCI have not been tested. ⋯ This pilot study provides the first evidence that the intensity of stepping practice may be an important determinant of LT outcomes in individuals with iSCI. Whether such training is feasible in larger patient populations and contributes to improved locomotor outcomes deserves further consideration.
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Neurorehabil Neural Repair · Aug 2017
Somatosensory Feedback to the Cheek During Virtual Visual Feedback Therapy Enhances Pain Alleviation for Phantom Arms.
Patients who suffer from phantom limb pain can perceive tactile stimuli applied to the cheek on their affected side as if it were coming from their phantom limb, a phenomenon called "referred sensation." ⋯ The analgesic effect of neurorehabilitative visual feedback during phantom limb movement is significantly improved by applying somatosensory feedback to the cheek on the affected side. Further studies are needed to extend these findings to objective pain measures and to elucidate the neural mechanisms that underlie the analgesic effect.