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ObjectiveTo observe the characteristics of gait symmetry and its influencing factors in patients with incomplete spinal cord injury (ISCI). MethodsFrom May, 2018 to November, 2021, 34 patients with ISCI in Beijing Bo'ai Hospital were divided into symmetrical injury of lower limb (SI) group and asymmetrical injury of lower limb (ASI) group according to the lower extremities motor score (LEMS). Three dimensional motion acquisition system and plantar pressure acquisition system were used for gait test. The symmetry indexes of step length, stance time and swing time were caculated. ResultsThe symmetry indexes of step length, stance time and swing time were significant lower in SI group than in ASI group (|t| > 2.619, P < 0.01). Stance time and swing time significantly correlated to the difference of bilateral LEMS in ASI group (r > 0.468, P < 0.01). Discriminant analysis showed that gait parameter equations were different for patients with different symmetry of lower limb injuries. ConclusionThe symmetry of lower limb motor function impacts gait symmetry for patients with ISCI, especially the difference value of bilateral total LEMS. Gait parameters can be used to determine the symmetry of lower limb injury in patients with ISCI.
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Objective:To explore vibration, position and motion proprioception of the ankle joints after a stroke.Methods:Twenty-eight stroke survivors with impaired ankle proprioception were divided into a right-side stroke group ( n=18) and a left-side stroke group ( n=8). Twenty-two healthy volunteers constituted a control group. Vibration perception thresholds, passive and active joint angle resetting, and motion minimum thresholds were quantified among the stroke survivors on both the healthy and the affected side. With the controls the dominant and non-dominant sides were used. The differences in proprioception between the healthy volunteers and the stroke patients, between the affected side and the healthy side of the stroke patients, and between left- and right-side stroke patients were analyzed and compared. Results:Among the stroke survivors the vibration perception threshold on the affected side averaged (28.91±22.53)μm. The absolute difference in the perception of passive positioning was (5.49±5.39)° for 15° of plantar flexion and (4.48±3.89)° for 5° of dorsal extension. In active positioning plantar flexion was (5.23±4.34)° and for 30° of plantar flexion it was (3.26±1.73)°. The 5° dorsal extension error was (4.97±3.48)°. The motion perception thresholds between 20° of plantar flexion, 10° of plantar flexion and the neutral position were significantly higher, on average, than among the control group. The stroke group also had significantly higher motion perception thresholds than the control group.Conclusion:The vibration, position, and motion sense of the ankle joint on a stroke survivor′s affected side tend to be impaired, with the impairment of vibration and motion sensing tend to be more substantial. After stroke, there is also mild impairment of vibration, position and motion sensing in the healthy ankle joint. The impairment of proprioception caused by right cerebral hemisphere injury may be more serious than that caused by injury on the left.
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Objective:To test the utility of monofilament cutaneous threshold testing among patients with impaired touch sensation caused by central nervous system injury.Methods:Thirty stroke survivors and 30 patients with spinal cord injury were recruited. Monofilament threshold testing and cotton wool tests were performed on the bilateral forehead, face, palms and dorsum of feet among the stroke survivors. Among those with a spinal cord injury both tests were performed on each side of the L 4, L 5 and S 1 vertebrae. One week later, all were retested. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to quantify the test-retest reliability of the tests. Kappa values were calculated to determine the degree of agreement between them. Stepwise multiple linear regressions were evaluated to examine the relationship between touch perception thresholds and age, height, gender, type of injury and injured site. Results:①The ICC for the monofilament test was between 0.74 and 0.95, higher than that of the cotton wool test (ICC: 0.60 to 0.83). ②The kappa value between the monofilament and cotton wool tests was 0.550, indicating good agreement. ③The types of injury and injured sites were independent correlates of the touch perception thresholds, but there was no significant correlation between the touch perception thresholds and age, height, gender or group.Conclusions:The monofilament cutaneous threshold test has good test-retest reliability, better than the cotton wool test. Therefore, it may be useful as a tool for assessing impaired touch sensation caused by central nervous system injury.
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ObjectiveTo explore the features and assessment for far space neglect in left spatial neglect patients after right brain stroke. MethodsFrom January to October, 2021, 30 left unilateral spatial neglect (USN) patients after right stroke (patients, n = 30) from Beijing Bo'ai Hospital and healthy volunteers matching with gender, age and level of education (controls, n = 30) were evaluated with line cancelation (LC), star cancelation (SC) and line bisection (LB) tests, nearly and far away. The 25 controls were evaluated with LB on the second day. ResultsNo line or star was omissed in the controls. Both the deviation and percentage were more in the patients than in the controls (|t| > 4.319, P < 0.001). Both the deviation and percentage were less different for all the test (|Z| < 1.638, t = -1.282, P > 0.05) between nearly and far away, except the deviation of LB (t = -4.994, P < 0.001). The ICC of test-retest was above 0.462 (P < 0.01). ConclusionRight brain stroke patients with USN may present far spatial neglect, which can be assessed with LB.
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Objective:To explore the factors influencing executive functioning after a brain injury and analyze the relationship between executive functioning and other cognitive functions.Methods:Forty-six brain injury survivors were given the Executive Function Performance Task (EFPT) assessment and the Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA). The scores and time of the EFPT tasks, and the orientation, perception, visual motor organization, thinking, and attention and concentration results in the LOTCA were observed. Regression analysis compared the males and females, those younger and older than 40, those with more or less than 12 years of education, trauma and stroke survivors, as well as those with left, right and bilateral lesion to isolate the factors most influencing executive functioning.Results:The average EFPT score on the cooking task, the medication score and the total score of the young group were all significantly higher than those of the older group. Their telephone time, medication time and bill payment time were all significantly shorter. Those with more than 12 years of education had average scores on the cooking, bill payment and EFPT significantly higher than those with less than 12 years of education. The average bill paying and total EFPT scores of the brain trauma group were significantly higher than the stroke group′s averages. No significant differences were observed between the different genders or those with different injury sites. Age was the strongest predictor of total EFPT scores. Except for the medication scores, the average scores of the other three tasks and the total score of EFPT were moderately correlated with the visual motor organization, thinking, attention and concentration, and total LOTCA scores, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.31 to 0.64.Conclusions:Older persons and those will less education tend to have worse executive functioning. Traumatic damage to executive functioning is more serious than that caused by stroke. Executive functioning is closely related to visual-motor organization, and to the ability to think, attend and concentrate.
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Objective:To test the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the executive function performance test (EFPT) when it is used with persons with a brain injury.Methods:Forty-six brain injury patients comprised the patient group, and forty-nine healthy counterparts formed the normal group. All completed the EFPT, the Flanker task, a color shape task, the speech and visual space 2-back and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Thirty normal subjects were asked to complete the EFPT again 4 weeks after the first test. Spearman correlation analysis was used for reliability and validity analysis.Results:The EFPT scale showed good internal consistency, as Cronbach′s α coefficient was 0.73 to 0.83. Test-retest reliability was good, as the internal correlation coefficients ranged from 0.50 to 0.85. The results of the EFPT correlated moderately well ( r=0.29-0.57) with the total number of responses, the number of completed collocations, persistent responses and non-persistent errors, as well as with the percentage of the generalized level of the WCST. Moreover, all of the EFPT results correlated moderately well with those of the IADL except for the task of taking medication. Compared with the control group, the brain-injured group got significantly higher sub-test and total scores on the EFPT. Conclusions:The Chinese version of the EFPT has demonstrated adequate reliability and validity with brain-injured Chinese persons. It is a good tool for evaluating the executive functioning of such persons and can reflect any executive dysfunction in their daily living activities.