Rodgersbeck4413

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder that results in progressive muscular degeneration. Although medical advances increased their life expectancy, DMD individuals are still highly dependent on caregivers. Hand/wrist function is central for providing independence, and robotic exoskeletons are good candidates for effectively compensating for deteriorating functionality. Robotic hand exoskeletons require the accurate decoding of motor intention typically via surface electromyography (sEMG). Traditional low-density sEMG was used in the past to explore the muscular activations of individuals with DMD; however, it cannot provide high spatial resolution. This study characterized, for the first time, the forearm high-density (HD) electromyograms of three individuals with DMD while performing seven hand/wrist-related tasks and compared them to eight healthy individuals (all data available online). We looked into the spatial distribution of HD-sEMG patterns by using principal component analysis (PCA)r potential for the myocontrol of wearable exoskeletons. Our findings present evidence for the first time on how DMD leads to progressive alterations in hand/wrist motor control in DMD individuals compared to healthy. GSK864 mouse The better understanding of these alterations can lead to further developments for the intuitive and robust myoelectric control of active hand exoskeletons for individuals with DMD. Copyright © 2020 Nizamis, Rijken, van Middelaar, Neto, Koopman and Sartori.Background Previous studies conflicted in the association between intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) and the severity of white matter changes (WMC). Aims We aimed to investigate the relationships between the severity of luminal stenosis and the hemodynamic significance of middle cerebral artery (MCA) stenosis, and the severity of ipsilateral WMC. Methods In this cross-sectional study, patients with a recent ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack and a 50-99% MCA-M1 stenosis in the Chinese Intracranial Atherosclerosis study cohort were analyzed. The post- to pre-stenotic signal intensity ratio (SIR) was obtained in time-of-flight MR angiography (MRA) to represent the hemodynamic significance of MCA-M1 stenosis, with a lower SIR indicating a hemodynamically more severe lesion. The severity of ipsilesional WMC was assessed by an age-related WMC (ARWMC) scale in T2-weighted fluid attenuated inversion recovery MR imaging. The relationships between the degree of MCA-M1 stenosis, SIR, and ipsilesional ARWMC scale were analyzed. The MCA-M1 lesion with a higher percentage of stenosis was chosen for analyses in patients with bilateral MCA-M1 stenoses. Results Among 180 subjects (mean age, 64 years), a lower SIR of MCA-M1 stenosis (Spearman correlation coefficient, -0.543; p less then 0.001), but not the degree of stenosis (p = 0.93), was significantly linearly correlated with a higher ipsilateral ARWMC. Multivariate ordinal logistic regression identified older age (OR = 1.037; 95% CI, 1.008-1.066; p = 0.011) and lower SIR (OR = 0.010; 95% CI, 0.002-0.058; p less then 0.001) as independent predictors for more severe ipsilateral WMC. Conclusion Patients with hemodynamically more severe ICAS are more likely to have more severe ipsilateral WMC. Longitudinal studies with sequential imaging exams may further reveal the impact of hemodynamic significance of ICAS on the development and progression of WMC. Copyright © 2020 Fang, Leng, Pu, Zou, Pan, Song, Soo, Leung, Wang, Zhao, Wang, Wang,Wong, Liu and Xu.Background Fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) is conceived as a multidimensional construct. Objectives This study aims to describe the changes of balance and gait parameters after 6 min of walking (6 MW) as potential quantitative markers for perceptions of state fatigue and trait fatigue in MS. Methods A total of 19 patients with MS (17 with fatigue) and 24 healthy subjects underwent static posturography, gait analysis, and ratings of perceived exertion before and after 6 MW. Results 6 MW was perceived as exhaustive, but both groups featured more dynamic comfortable speed walking after 6 MW. Shorter stride length at maximum speed and increased postural sway after 6 MW indicated fatigability of balance and gait in MS group only. While most changes were related to higher levels of perceived exertion after 6 MW (state fatigue), higher fatigue ratings (trait fatigue) were only associated with less increase in arm swing at comfortable speed. Further analysis revealed different associations of trait fatigue and performance fatigability with disability and motor functions. Performance fatigability was most closely related to the Expanded Disability Status Scale, while for trait fatigue, the strongest correlations were seen with balance function and handgrip strength. Conclusions Fatigability of performance was closely related to perceptions of exertion after 6 MW (state fatigue) and disability in MS but distinct from fatigue ratings, conceived as trait fatigue. Our study identified postural sway, arm swing during gait, and hand grip strength as unexpected potential motor indicators of fatigue ratings in MS. Copyright © 2020 Drebinger, Rasche, Kroneberg, Althoff, Bellmann-Strobl, Weygandt, Paul, Brandt and Schmitz-Hübsch.Introduction Despite the fact that epilepsy has been associated with cognitive decline, neuropsychological, neurobiological, and neurophysiological features in patients with late-onset epilepsy of unknown etiology (LOEU) are still unknown. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the neuropsychological profile, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and resting-state quantitative electroencephalographic (qEEG) cortical rhythms in LOEU patients with mild cognitive impairment (LOEU-MCI) and with normal cognition (LOEU-CN), compared to non-epileptic MCI (NE-MCI) and cognitively normal (CN) controls. Methods Consecutive patients in two clinical Units diagnosed with LOEU-CN (19), LOEU-MCI (27), and NE-MCI (21) were enrolled, and compared to age and sex-matched cognitively normal subjects CN (11). Patients underwent standardized comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation and CSF core AD biomarkers assessment (i.e., CSF Aβ42, phospho-tau and total tau, classified through A/T/(N) system).