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To evaluate the types and severity of subcortical aphasia after stroke and to determine the predictors of the degree of aphasic impairment.
Medical records of 38 patients with post-stroke subcortical aphasia (19 males; mean age, 61.7±13.8 years) were reviewed retrospectively with respect to the following tests: the Korean version of the Western Aphasia Battery (K-WAB), the Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI), and the Fugl-Meyer Index (FMI). The severity of aphasia was evaluated by the aphasia quotient (AQ) and the language quotient (LQ).
Anomic aphasia was the most frequent type of aphasia (n=15, 39.5%), and the lesion most frequently observed in subcortical aphasia was located in the basal ganglia (n=19, 50.0%). Patients with lesions in the basal ganglia exhibited the lowest scores on the FMI for the upper extremities (p=0.04). Severity of aphasia was significantly correlated with the K-MBI (Pearson correlation coefficient: γ=0.45, p=0.01 for AQ and γ=0.53, p=0.01 for LQ) and FMI scores for the lower extremities (γ=0.43, p=0.03 for AQ and γ=0.49, p=0.05 for LQ). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, K-MBI remained the only explanatory variable closely associated with aphasia severity.
This study showed the general characteristics of post-stroke subcortical aphasia, and it revealed that K-MBI was an associated and explanatory factor for aphasia severity.
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This review article describes definitive noninvasive respiratory management of respiratory muscle dysfunction to eliminate need to resort to tracheotomy. In 2010 clinicians from 22 centers in 18 countries reported 1,623 spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA1), Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis users of noninvasive ventilatory support (NVS) of whom 760 required it continuously (CNVS). The CNVS sustained their lives by over 3,000 patient-years without resort to indwelling tracheostomy tubes. These centers have now extubated at least 74 consecutive ventilator unweanable patients with DMD, over 95% of CNVS-dependent patients with SMA1, and hundreds of others with advanced neuromuscular disorders (NMDs) without resort to tracheotomy. Two centers reported a 99% success rate at extubating 258 ventilator unweanable patients without resort to tracheotomy. Patients with myopathic or lower motor neuron disorders can be managed noninvasively by up to CNVS, indefinitely, despite having little or no measurable vital capacity, with the use of physical medicine respiratory muscle aids. Ventilator-dependent patients can be decannulated of their tracheostomy tubes.
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To report successful cases of extubation from invasive mechanical ventilation at our institution using pulmonary rehabilitation consisting of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in neuromuscular patients with experience of reintubation.
Patients who experienced extubation failure via the conventional weaning strategy but afterwards had extubation success via NIV were studied retrospectively. Continuous end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2) and pulse oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2) monitoring were performed. Extubation success was defined as a state not requiring invasive mechanical ventilation via endotracheal tube or tracheotomy during a period of at least 5 days.
A total of 18 patients with ventilatory failure who initially experienced extubation failure were finally placed under part-time NIV after extubation. No patient had any serious or long-term adverse effect from NIV, and all patients left the hospital alive.
NIV may promote successful weaning in neuromuscular patients with experience of reintubation.
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To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety following percutaneous disc decompression, using navigable disc decompression device for cervical herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP).
Twenty subjects diagnosed with cervical HNP and refractory to conservative management were enrolled for the study. The herniated discs were decompressed under fluoroscopic guidance, using radiofrequency ablation device with navigable wand. The sagittal and axial plain magnetic resonance images of the clinically significant herniated disc, decided the space between the herniated base and outline as the target area for ablation. Clinical outcome was determined by Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Neck Disability Index (NDI), and Bodily Pain scale of Short Form-36 (SF-36 BP), assessed after 48 weeks. After the procedure, we structurally matched the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and C-arm images through bony markers. The wand position was defined as being ‘correct’ if the tip was placed within the target area of both AP and lateral views; if not, the position was stated as ‘incorrect’.
The average NRS fell from 7 to 1 at 48 weeks post procedure (p<0.05). In addition, statistically significant improvement was noted in the NDI and SF-36BP (p<0.05). The location of the wand tip resulted in 16 correct and 4 incorrect placements. Post-48 weeks, 3 of the incorrect tip cases and 1 correct tip case showed unsuccessful outcomes.
The study demonstrated the promising results and safety of the procedure. Thus, focal plasma ablation of cervical HNP with navigable wand can be another effective treatment option.
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To investigate the real-time cardiovascular response to the progressive overload exercise in different levels of spinal cord injury (SCI), and to find out whether regular exercise has effect on these cardiovascular responses.
The study enrolled 8 able-bodied individuals in the control group plus 15 SCI subjects who were divided into two groups by their neurological level of injury: high-level SCI group (T6 or above) and low-level SCI group (T7 or below). Also, subjects were divided into exercise group and non-exercise group by usual exercise habits. We instructed the subjects to perform exercises using arm ergometer according to the protocol and checked plethysmograph for the real time assessment of blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiac output.
Six subjects were included in high-level SCI group (3 cervical, 3 thoracic injuries), 9 subjects in low-level SCI group (9 thoracic injuries), and 8 able-bodied individuals in control group. During arm ergometer-graded exercise, mean arterial pressure (MAP) was significantly lower in high-level SCI subjects of non-exercise group, compared with high-level SCI subjects of exercise group. In addition, HR was significantly higher in low-level SCI group compared with control group.
There are significant differences in mean arterial pressure of high-level SCI group according to usual exercise habits. We discovered that even in non-athlete high-level SCI, regular exercise can bring cardiac modulation through blood pressure control.
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In this case report, we want to introduce a successful way of applying non-invasive ventilation (NIV) with a full face mask in patients with high cervical spinal cord injury through a novel alarm system for communication. A 57-year-old man was diagnosed with C3 American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale (AIS) B. We applied NIV for treatment of hypercapnia. Because of mouth opening during sleep, a full face mask was the only way to use NIV. However, he could not take off the mask by himself, and this situation caused great fear. To solve this problem, we designed a novel alarm system. The best intended motion of the patient was neck rotation. Sensing was performed by a balloon sensor placed under the head of the patient. A beep sound was generated whenever the pressure was above the threshold, and more than three consecutive beeps within 3,000 ms created a loud alarm for caregivers.
The aim of this study is to exam the effects of exercise modes on the systolic blood pressure and rate-pressure product during a gradually increasing exercise load from low to high intensity.
Fifteen apparently healthy men aged 19 to 23 performed the graded exercise tests on cycle ergometer (CE) and treadmill (TM). During the low-to-maximal exercises, oxygen uptake (VO2), heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and rate-pressure product were measured.
CE had a significantly lower maximum VO2 than TM (CE vs. TM: 48.51±1.30 vs. 55.4±1.19 mL/kg/min; p<0.001). However, CE showed a higher maximum SBP (SBPmax) at the all-out exercise load than TM (CE vs. TM: 170±2.4 vs. 154±1.7 mmHg; p<0.001). During the low-to-maximal intensity increment, the slope of the HR with VO2 was the same as VO2 increased in times of the graded exercise test of CE and TM (CE vs. TM: 2.542±0.100 vs. 2.506±0.087; p=0.26). The slope of increase on SBP accompanied by VO2 increase was significantly higher in CE than in TM (CE vs. TM: 1.669±0.117 vs. 1.179±0.063; p<0.001).
The SBP response is stronger in CE than in TM during the graded exercise test. Therefore, there is a possibility that CE could induce a greater burden on workloads to cardiovascular system in humans than TM.
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To reveal the relationship between depression and WMSD.
Five physiatrists participated in the workplace musculoskeletal survey and diagnosed 724 office workers with WMSD by performing detailed history taking and physical examination. All subjects were asked to answer the Korean version of the Beck depressive inventory (K-BDI), and to express their pain according to the visual analogue scale (VAS) score. We categorized the subjects into 4 groups, myofascial pain syndrome (MPS), herniated intervertebral disk (HIVD), tenosynovitis, and others, and investigated the prevalence of depression in desk workers and relationship between WMSD and depression, and we compared pain intensity between the depression and non-depression groups. Correlation analysis was carried out between K-BDI and VAS scores in each group.
The mean K-BDI score were 8.7±6.68. The prevalence of depression was higher in females than in male, and there was no relationship between age and depression. There was a significant connection between HIVD and depression (p<0.05). However, the other groups did not have significant connection to depression. The VAS score (5.02) of the depression group was significantly higher than that (4.10) of the non-depression group. In addition, there was a significant difference of VAS scores between the depression group and non-depression group in each disease group.
The mean VAS score of the depression group in WMSD was significantly higher than in the non-depression group. The correlation between BDI and VAS scores in the subjects was present, and the highest was in the HIVD group.
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The temporal lobe is essential in saving declarative memory and plays an important role along with the cerebral neocortex in creating and maintaining long-term memory. Damage to the temporal lobe is expected to result in cognitive impairment or dementia, which has characteristic symptoms such as cognitive and behavioral dysfunction and decreasing self-reliance in activities of daily living. We report on a patient, who suffered from dementia due to meningovascular syphilis affecting the medial temporal lobe, and on the outcome of cognitive rehabilitation.
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To survey the cardiovascular complications induced by cardiac monitoring exercise during 10 years of our cardiac rehabilitation (CR) clinic and report on the safety of monitoring exercise training for early hospital-based CR.
All cardiac patients who participated in our exercise program from January 2000 through December 2009 were recruited as study subjects. We stratified the exercise risks of cardiac events and conducted the monitoring exercise with individualized prescriptions. We measured all cardiac complications, including death, symptoms, abnormal hemodynamic responses, and electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormality during exercise training, for 10 years. A total of 975 patients (68% male; mean age, 58.9±10.6) were included in this study. Initial indications for CR were recent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) (75%), post-cardiac surgery (coronary bypass graft, 13.2%), valvular surgery and other cardiac surgery (4.2%), and others (7.6%).
The study population underwent 13,934 patient-hours of monitoring exercise. No death, cardiac arrest or acute myocardial infarction (AMI) occurred during exercise (0/13,934 exercise-hours). Fifty-nine patients experienced 70 cardiovascular events during the 13,934 exercise-hours (1/199 exercise-hours); there were 17 cases of angina only (1/820 exercise-hours), 31 cases of ECG abnormalities only (1/449 exercise-hours), 12 cases of angina with ECG abnormalities (1/1,161 exercise-hours), and 10 cases of abnormal hemodynamic responses (1/1,393 exercise-hours).
Early hospital-based CR is safe enough that no death, cardiac arrest or AMI occurred during the 13,934 patient-hours of monitoring exercise. However, risk stratification for exercise-induced cardiovascular events, proper exercise prescriptions, and intensive ECG monitoring are required prior to initiation of the monitoring exercise.
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To evaluate the effects of power walking (PW) training on a treadmill in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and to compare the cardiovascular effects of PW with usual walking (UW).
Patients were recruited as participants in phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation program after receiving percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) due to acute coronary syndrome from our hospital. The participants were divided into the PW group (n=16) and UW group (n=18). All participants received graded exercise test (GXT) and significant difference in maximal oxygen consumption (VO2Max) was not observed between the groups. Aerobic exercise training on treadmill was given for 50 minutes per session, three times a week, for six weeks. Physiological and hematological parameters were tested before and 6 weeks after the cardiac rehabilitation program. Exercise duration, VO2Max, heart rate, blood pressure, and rate pressure product were evaluated through graded exercise test. Hematological measurements included serum lipid profile, and high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP).
There were no significant differences in resting heart rate, maximal heart rate, resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures, lipid profile, hs-CRP, VO2Max, and RPP between the PW group and UW group. However, after 6 weeks of the intervention, VO2Max in the PW group (36.03±5.69 ml/kg/min) was significantly higher than that in the UW group (29.73±5.63 ml/kg/min) (p<0.05).
After six weeks of phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation program, the PW group showed significant improvement in VO2Max than the UW group. Thus, it will beneficial to recommend power walking in cardiac rehabilitation program.
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Spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (SDAVF) is rare but still the most commonly encountered vascular malformation of the spinal cord. A 31-year-old male developed gait disturbance due to weakness of his lower extremities, voiding difficulty and sexual dysfunction with a progressive course since 3 months. He showed areflexia in both knees and ankles. Electromyographic findings were suggestive of multiple root lesions involving bilateral L2 to S4 roots of moderate degree. Magnetic resonance images showed high signal intensity with an ill-defined margin in T2-weighted images and intensely enhanced by a contrast agent through the lumbosacral spinal cord. Selective spinal angiography confirmed a dural arteriovenous fistula with a nidus at the L2 vertebral level. After selective endovascular embolization, his symptoms drastically improved except sexual dysfunction. We report a rare case of cauda equina syndrome due to spinal arteriovenous fistula with drastic improvement after endovascular embolization.
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To provide the off-loading knee brace was designed relief for the pain associated with osteoarthritis by reduce loads on the degenerative compartment of the knee. This study examined the effects of the off-loading knee brace on activation of femoral muscles during squatting, slow and fast walking exercise in healthy young individuals.
Ten healthy male subjects without a history of knee pain were recruited. Each subject was asked to do squatting, slow and fast walking exercises with a brace secured to the dominant leg. The same exercises were repeated without the brace. Surface electromyographic (sEMG) data was collected from the vastus medialis oblique (VMO), vastus lateralis (VL) and biceps femoris (BF) muscles from the dominant side of the leg. All dynamic root mean squre (RMS) values of sEMG were standardized to static RMS values of the maximal isometric contraction and expressed as a percentage of maximal activity.
We found that VMO activity was significantly decreased with application of the off-loading knee brace during squatting and fast walking exercise. However there were no significant differences in VMO activity with application of the off-loading knee brace during slow walking exercise.
These results suggest that the external moment of the brace which effectively stabilized the patella in the movement in which the knee joints become relatively unstable. The brace could be useful in the short term, but for long-term use, weakening of the VMO is predicted. Therefore the program of selective muscular strength strengthening for the VMO should be emphasized.
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