Análise da marcha de crianças com paralisia cerebral com e sem uso de órteses de tornozelo e pé / Analysis of the gait of children with cerebral palsy with and without using ankle and foot orthoses

OBJETIVOS: Analisar os parâmetros lineares da marcha de crianças com paralisia cerebral hemiparética espástica, usuárias de órteses de tornozelo e pé articuladas. MÉTODOS: Foi realizada a análise tridimensional da marcha de oito crianças com paralisia cerebral hemiparética espástica, com idade entre 5 e 10 anos, classificadas nos níveis I e II do Sistema de Classificação da Função Motora Grossa, com e sem o uso de órtese de tornozelo e pé. Um sistema de cinemetria com sete câmeras integradas capturou a trajetória tridimensional dos marcadores no corpo dos participantes durante a marcha, sendo os dados coletados em uma taxa de amostragem de 100Hz. Para as comparações foram utilizados o teste t pareado e o teste t para uma amostra. RESULTADOS: Em relação às variáveis espaço-temporais da marcha das crianças com paralisia cerebral comparadas com os valores da normalidade, apenas a velocidade (tanto com a órtese quanto sem a órtese) apresentou diferença estatisticamente significativa. O valor médio normal da velocidade da marcha é de 1,25 m/s, enquanto nos participantes sem uso de órtese a velocidade média foi de 0,98±0,10m/s (p=0,0001) e com o uso de órtese a velocidade média foi de 0,96±0,21 m/s (p=0,0001). Na comparação entre as crianças usando ou não a órtese de tornozelo e pé articulada, a velocidade, a cadência e o comprimento do passo foram respectivamente de 0,98±0,10m/s, 131±16,15 passos/min e 0,44±0,08m nas crianças sem a órtese; e de 0,96±0,21m/s, 128,37±22,9 passos/min e 0,48±0,05 m nas crianças com a órtese. As diferenças não foram estatisticamente significativas. CONCLUSÕES: A comparação entre o mesmo grupo com e sem o uso das órteses de tornozelo e pé articuladas sugere que o uso das mesmas nas crianças com paralisia cerebral possa promover um aumento do comprimento do passo e uma diminuição da velocidade e da cadência em relação à condição sem órtese, favorecendo uma melhor distribuição de peso no membro parético e proporcionando uma melhor simetria na marcha. Entretanto as diferenças não foram estatisticamente significativas. Assim, espera-se que os resultados obtidos neste estudo possam servir de piloto para futuras pesquisas, com amostras maiores.

AIMS: To analyze the linear parameters of the gait of children with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy, users of articulated ankle and foot orthoses. METHODS: A three-dimensional analysis of the gait of eight children with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy, aged 5 to 10 years, classified in levels I and II of the Gross Motor Function Classification System, was made with and without the use of ankle and foot orthoses. A kinematic system with seven integrated cameras captured the three-dimensional trajectory of markers in the participants' body during gait, with data being collected at a sampling rate of 100Hz. For the comparisons, the paired t-test and the t-test for a sample were used. RESULTS: Considering the gait's spatiotemporal variables of these children with cerebral palsy compared to normal values, only velocity (with the orthosis and without the orthoses) presented a statistically significant difference. The mean normal gait velocity is 1.25m/s, while in the non-orthoses participants the mean velocity was 0.98±0.10m/s (p=0.0001) and with the use of orthoses the mean velocity was 0.96±0.21m/s (p=0.0001). In the comparison between children using or not the ankle and foot orthoses, velocity, cadence and pitch length were respectively 0.98±0.10m/s, 131±16.15 steps/min and 0.44±0.08 m in the children without the orthoses; and 0.96±0.21m/s, 128.37±22.9 steps/min and 0.48±0.05m in the children with the orthoses. The differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Comparison between the same group with and without the use of ankle and foot orthoses suggests that their use in children with cerebral palsy may promote an increase in step length and a decrease in velocity and cadence in relation to condition without orthosis, favouring a better distribution of weight in the paretic member and providing a better symmetry in gait. However, the differences were not statistically significant. Thus, it is expected that the results obtained in this study can serve as a pilot for future research, with larger samples.

Glyphosate and Roundup® alter morphology and behavior in zebrafish.

Glyphosate has become the most widely used herbicide in the world, due to the wide scale adoption of transgenic glyphosate resistant crops after its introduction in 1996. Glyphosate may be used alone, but it is commonly applied as an active ingredient of the herbicide Roundup®. This pesticide contains several adjuvants, which may promote an unknown toxicity. The indiscriminate application poses numerous problems, both for the health of the applicators and consumers, and for the environment, contaminating the soil, water and leading to the death of plants and animals. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is quickly gaining popularity in behavioral research, because of physiological similarity to mammals, sensitivity to pharmacological factors, robust performance, low cost, short spawning intervals, external fertilization, transparency of embryos through larval stages, and rapid development. The aim of this study was evaluate the effects of glyphosate and Roundup® on behavioral and morphological parameters in zebrafish larvae and adults. Zebrafish larvae at 3days post-fertilization and adults were exposed to glyphosate (0.01, 0.065, and 0.5mg/L) or Roundup® (0.01, 0.065, and 0.5mg/L) for 96h. Immediately after the exposure, we performed the analysis of locomotor activity, aversive behavior, and morphology for the larvae and exploratory behavior, aggression and inhibitory avoidance memory for adult zebrafish. In zebrafish larvae, there were significant differences in the locomotor activity and aversive behavior after glyphosate or Roundup® exposure when compared to the control group. Our findings demonstrated that exposure to glyphosate at the concentration of 0.5mg/L, Roundup® at 0.065 or 0.5mg/L reduced the distance traveled, the mean speed and the line crossings in adult zebrafish. A decreased ocular distance was observed for larvae exposed at 0.5mg/L of glyphosate. We verified that at 0.5mg/L of Roundup®-treated adult zebrafish demonstrated a significant impairment in memory. Both glyphosate and Roundup® reduced aggressive behavior. Our data suggest that there are small differences between the effects induced by glyphosate and Roundup®, altering morphological and behavioral parameters in zebrafish, suggesting common mechanisms of toxicity and cellular response.