The impact of disease-modifying therapy ranges from cure to no impact with a wide range of intermediates. In cases where the intermediate group reaches a plateau after the acquisition of some muscle strength, it is necessary to set a functional level appropriate for increased motor power and establish a long-term exercise plan to maintain it. As the disease status stabilizes and the life span increases, early nonsurgical interventions are required, such as using a standing frame to prevent joint contracture, applying a spinal brace at the early stage of scoliosis, and maintaining sitting postures that exaggerate lumbar lordosis. In cases where scoliosis and hip displacement occur and progress even after conservative managements are implemented, early referral to surgery should be considered. Oromotor activity and swallowing function are influenced not only by the effects of disease-modifying drugs, but also by post-birth experience and training. Therefore, although the feeding tube cannot be removed, it is necessary to make efforts to simulate the infant feeding development while maintaining partial oral feeding. Since the application period of non-invasive ventilators has increased, it has become more important to prevent long-term complications such as facial abrasion, skin allergy, orthodontic deformities, and maxillary flattening caused by the interface. Dual ventilator mode or interface can also be utilized.

Citations

• Physical and Respiratory Rehabilitation in Spinal Muscular Atrophy: A Critical Narrative Review
  Serena Cammarano, Vincenzo Alessio Chirico, Benedetto Giardulli, Giovanna Mazzuoccolo, Carlo Ruosi, Bruno Corrado
  Applied Sciences.2025; 15(8): 4398.     CrossRef

Objective
To assess whether performing exercises during hemodialysis reduces the risk of developing intradialytic hypotension and enhances exercise capacity in patients with chronic kidney disease.
Methods
This study included patients aged ≥18 years undergoing hemodialysis. Participants performed exercises using a portable lower extremity ergometer during hemodialysis sessions for 3 weeks. Data regarding walking distance, knee strength, quality of life, fat-free mass, arterial pressure, blood pressure, heart rate, frequency of intradialytic hypotension, fatigue, and duration of hemodialysis were collected and analyzed.
Results
Significant improvements in walking distance and knee strength were observed following the implementation of exercise training during hemodialysis. Although there was no significant reduction in the frequency of intradialytic hypotension, a decreasing trend was noted. Other parameters such as quality of life and fatigue did not show significant changes.
Conclusion
Using a portable ergometer during hemodialysis improved exercise capacity and knee strength in patients with chronic kidney disease. There was a trend toward reduced intradialytic hypotension, suggesting potential cardiovascular benefits. Further research with larger sample sizes is needed to confirm these findings.

Citations

• Can exercise reduce fatigue in people living with kidney disease?
  Thomas J. Wilkinson, Lisa Ancliffe, Jamie H. Macdonald
  Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care.2025; 28(3): 200.     CrossRef

Objective
To prospectively compare the efficacy of conventional center-based cardiac rehabilitation (CBCR) and home-based cardiac rehabilitation (HBCR) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Methods
Ninety Patients were divided into HBCR and CBCR groups based on cardiovascular risk stratification and individual preference. The CBCR group performed supervised in-hospital exercise training 2–3 times/week and subsequent self-exercise at home. The HBCR group performed self-exercise at home after one or two sessions of exercise education. The cardiopulmonary exercise test results at baseline and those at the 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups were analyzed as primary outcome.
Results
The peak oxygen consumption (peak VO₂, mL/kg/min) in the CBCR group was 20.1 and 24.0 at baseline and 12 months, respectively, showing significant improvement (p=0.006). In the HBCR group, it only increased from 24.4 to 25.5, showing suboptimal improvement. A significant increase in the Korean activity scale/index was confirmed only in the CBCR group (p=0.04). The cardiovascular outcome did not differ between the two groups, nor did the dropout rate or demographic factors.
Conclusion
During the COVID-19 pandemic, only CBCR was associated with a significant improvement in peak VO₂ and physical activity levels, a finding that differs from those of other studies and seems to be affected by COVID-19. Therefore, in situations where the importance of HBCR is emphasized, it is essential to introduce measures to monitor and enhance exercise adherence among participants.

Citations

• Prognostic Factors for Responders of Home-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation—Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial
  Chul Kim, Hee-Eun Choi, Chin Kook Rhee, Jae Ha Lee, Ju Hyun Oh, Jun Hyeong Song
  Healthcare.2025; 13(3): 308.     CrossRef

Objective
To establish the reference standard of the median nerve conduction study (NCS) in Korea.
Methods
A total of 648 median motor and 602 median sensory NCSs from 349 Korean healthy volunteers were tested and analyzed prospectively. Equipment calibration, assessment of intraand inter-rater reliability, and the NCSs per se were conducted according to a predetermined protocol. A reference standard was established from uncertainty components for the following parameters: the onset and peak latencies; the baseline-to-peak and peak-to-peak amplitudes; the area and duration of the negative wave; and the nerve conduction velocity. The effects of sex, age and stimulation intensity were analyzed.
Results
Each measured value of 648 median motor and 602 median sensory nerves were obtained and presented with both mean and expanded uncertainties, as well as mean and standard deviations. The cut-off values with expanded uncertainty were determined for different age and sex groups. After adjusting for anthropometric covariates, all parameters except duration were affected by age, and sex appeared to influence both duration and area. While stimulation intensity significantly affected some parameters including latencies, the effect sizes were negligible.
Conclusion
We propose the median NCS reference standard using the largest Korean dataset ever available. The use of the traceable and reliable reference standard is anticipated to promote more accurate and dependable diagnosis and appropriate management of median neuropathies in Korea.

Objective
To distinguish infarct location and type with the utmost precision using the advantages of the Swin UNEt TRansformers (Swin UNETR) architecture.
Methods
The research employed a two-phase training approach. In the first phase, the Swin UNETR model was trained using the Ischemic Stroke Lesion Segmentation Challenge (ISLES) 2022 dataset, which included cases of acute and subacute infarcts. The second phase involved training with data from 309 patients. The 110 categories result from classifying infarcts based on 22 specific brain regions. Each region is divided into right and left sides, and each side includes four types of infarcts (acute, acute lacunar, subacute, subacute lacunar). The unique architecture of Swin UNETR, integrating elements of both the transformer and u-net designs with a hierarchical transformer computed with shifted windows, played a crucial role in the study.
Results
During Swin UNETR training with the ISLES 2022 dataset, batch loss decreased to 0.8885±0.1897, with training and validation dice scores reaching 0.4224±0.0710 and 0.4827±0.0607, respectively. The optimal model weight had a validation dice score of 0.5747. In the patient data model, batch loss decreased to 0.0565±0.0427, with final training and validation accuracies of 0.9842±0.0005 and 0.9837±0.0010.
Conclusion
The results of this study surpass the accuracy of similar studies, but they involve the issue of overfitting, highlighting the need for future efforts to improve generalizability. Such detailed classifications could significantly aid physicians in diagnosing infarcts in clinical settings.

Objective
To determine the normative values of the Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI) score for typically developing children in Korea and assess its suitability for use in children.
Methods
Rehabilitation physicians and occupational therapists with children were invited through an online platform to participate in a survey assessing their children’s performance of activity of daily living (ADL) using the K-MBI. The questionnaire encompassed queries on sociodemographic information of children and the assessment criteria outlined in the K-MBI. The standardized K-MBI scores by age were estimated using the nonlinear least squares method.
Results
The analysis incorporated responses from a total of 206 individuals. K-MBI total scores showed a rapid increase over the first 8 years of life, with 99% of children achieving a score of 90 or higher by age 8. Mobility scores exhibited a swift increase during early childhood, surpassing 90% of the maximum score at 3 years of age and nearing 100% at 7 years of age. In contrast, self-care scores demonstrated a more gradual advancement, achieving approximately 100% of the maximum score by the age of 10 years.
Conclusion
Age-specific normative values for K-MBI scores of typically developing children were established, which can be used as a reference in clinical care. While the K-MBI captured the overall trajectory of children’s ADL development, it did not discern subtle differences across various developmental stages. There is a need for the development of more refined assessment tools tailored specifically to children.

Objective
To assess postural stability, specifically center of body sway during single-leg standing balance, among individuals with and without forward head posture (FHP) during smartphone use.
Methods
The research recruited 53 healthy smartphone users, aged 18–25, and categorized them into FHP group comprising 26 subjects and the normal (control) group with 27 subjects. Participants were assigned the task of maintaining balance while engaged in smartphone typing during single-leg standing. The experiment involved four specific conditions according to neck posture and stable of surface. The study meticulously quantified body center of pressure (COP) sway amplitudes using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board.
Results
The research revealed that individuals with FHP exhibited significantly greater body sway compared to the control group when using smartphones. Notably, distinct variations were observed in path length sway, anteroposterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) sway amplitude, particularly evident when maintaining flexed neck positions on a soft surface while engaged with smartphones.
Conclusion
These findings strongly suggest that individuals with FHP encounter deteriorated postural stability during smartphone use, particularly in challenging head positions.

Citations

• Validity of a qualitative visual method for diagnosing forward head posture
  Shohei Shibasaki, Tomonori Kishino, Yoriko Sei, Keiichiro Harashima, Konomi Sakata, Hiroaki Ohnishi, Takashi Watanabe
  Musculoskeletal Science and Practice.2025; 76: 103282.     CrossRef
• Assessment of balance in overweight and obese young adults: utilizing centre of pressure displacement variables in the single leg sit-to-stand test
  Noppharath Sangkarit, Weerasak Tapanya, Patchareeya Amput, Chananya Muangchuen, Piyaporn Seeta, Worrasak Paleeta
  International Journal of Adolescence and Youth.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Evaluating fall risk in community-dwelling older adults through balance assessment with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board
  Weerasak Tapanya, Noppharath Sangkarit, Puttipong Poncumhak, Saisunee Konsanit
  Human Movement.2025; 26(1): 161.     CrossRef