ABSTRACT
Objective：We conducted a new physical fitness test and assessed activity and social participation in pediatric cancer survivors who participated in our hospital events and examined its characteristics and issues.Subjects：A total of 30 children aged 5 years or older (median age 9 years, 17 boys, 13 girls) were enrolled in the study. They were chosen from a pool of 44 pediatric cancer survivors who participated in our hospital's long-term follow-up events from August 2018 to August 2019.Methods：Medical records and evaluations performed at the events were examined retrospectively. Survey items included sex, diagnosis, age at evaluation and onset, years since discharge, physical and cognitive functions, new physical fitness test results, and ability to perform basic physical activity.Results：Regardless of the number of years since discharge from the hospital, physical fitness tended to be lower than the national average for both sexes and all ages, with a particular decline in endurance. Twenty-six of the 30 subjects (87%) were able to attend school all day and go out for a day. In addition, 11 (37%) participated in physical activities other than physical education and club activities.Conclusions：Childhood cancer survivors may have a long-term, persistent decline in physical fitness, even if they are able to participate in academic, leisure, and social activities, such as exercise lessons. It is beneficial to provide continuous support for physical fitness during hospitalization and throughout life, as well as to accomplish activities and social participation in accordance with growth.
ABSTRACT
Objective：We conducted a new physical fitness test and assessed activity and social participation in pediatric cancer survivors who participated in our hospital events and examined its characteristics and issues.Subjects：A total of 30 children aged 5 years or older (median age 9 years, 17 boys, 13 girls) were enrolled in the study. They were chosen from a pool of 44 pediatric cancer survivors who participated in our hospital's long-term follow-up events from August 2018 to August 2019.Methods：Medical records and evaluations performed at the events were examined retrospectively. Survey items included sex, diagnosis, age at evaluation and onset, years since discharge, physical and cognitive functions, new physical fitness test results, and ability to perform basic physical activity.Results：Regardless of the number of years since discharge from the hospital, physical fitness tended to be lower than the national average for both sexes and all ages, with a particular decline in endurance. Twenty-six of the 30 subjects (87%) were able to attend school all day and go out for a day. In addition, 11 (37%) participated in physical activities other than physical education and club activities.Conclusions：Childhood cancer survivors may have a long-term, persistent decline in physical fitness, even if they are able to participate in academic, leisure, and social activities, such as exercise lessons. It is beneficial to provide continuous support for physical fitness during hospitalization and throughout life, as well as to accomplish activities and social participation in accordance with growth.
ABSTRACT
Objective : The objective of the present study was to clarify the differences in statistical imaging analysis of functional and morphologic imaging between neuropsychological impairments (NPI) and nonorganic mental disorder (MD) after traumatic head injury. Methods : Six depressive patients after head injury without abnormal findings on conventional MRI (MD group), six nondepressive patients with NPI after diffuse axonal injury (NPI group), and six healthy subjects with a history of head injury (control group) were enrolled in this study. For all subjects, <sup>99m</sup>Tc-ethylcysteinate dimmer (Tc-ECD) SPECT and MRI 3D volumetry were performed. Imaging data were analyzed using statistical parametric mapping, and then, the analyzed data were compared among the three groups (2 sample t test, uncorrected <i>p</i><0.01). Results : Compared to the Control group, significant low Tc-ECD uptake and regional grey matter volume reduction were noticed bilaterally in the anterior medial brain aspects such as the anterior cingulate cortex in both the MD group and the NPI group. These findings were significantly greater in the NPI group than in the MD group. Moreover, these functional and morphologic abnormalities were also spread to more medial and deep aspects such as the posterior limbic and the brain stem in the NPI group. Conversely, in the MD group without morphologic abnormalities, only functional abnormalities spread above the common lesions to the dorsolateral brain aspects such as the superior frontal lobe. Conclusion : Our results revealed some characteristics of statistical imaging analysis in functional and morphologic imaging of MD and NPI patients after head injury. These findings seem to be novel and can serve as useful information for future investigation of neural correlates with both NPI and MD after head injury.
ABSTRACT
We performed a prospective study to determine whether the walking pattern of children with flatfoot can be influenced by using shoes and custom-modeled insoles. One hundred and thirty-two children (mean age ; 4.20±2.53) who had been referred by a physiatrist, and who were diagnosed with flatfoot at the brace clinic in our institute, were assigned to three groups : The first group was asked to walk barefoot, the second one to walk with shoes without insoles and the last one to walk with shoes with insoles. We measured walking speed, cadence, step length, step width, the duration of right and left stance phases, both double-limb stance phases, both swing phases, walking angle, and toe angle using a 2.4 m sheet-type Gait Analyzer, the Walk Way MW-1000 <sup>TM</sup>, at the individual's self-selected speed. Compared with the barefoot group, a significant increase was observed in the group using shoes with custom-modeled insoles in both walking speed and step length on both sides, and there were reductions in swing phase and walking angle on both sides (paired t-test ; <i>p</i><0.002).