Subject(s)
Biomedical Engineering , Rehabilitation , Biomedical Engineering/education , Humans , StudentsSubject(s)
Biomedical Engineering , Rehabilitation , Self-Help Devices , Arm/physiology , Artificial Limbs , Biomechanical Phenomena , Electric Stimulation Therapy/instrumentation , Electroencephalography , Equipment Design , Female , Hand Strength/physiology , Humans , Male , Pressure , Prosthesis Design , Robotics , Sex Characteristics , Sports Equipment , Telephone , Walkers , WheelchairsABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: There is a dearth of research on the exercise and activity patterns of persons with disabilities, particularly minority women with disabilities. This lack of information makes it difficult for public health officials to set policy guidelines for this segment of the population. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to survey the exercise and activity patterns of African-American women with severe physical disabilities (N = 50). METHODS: The Physical Activity and Disability Survey (PADS) was created for subjects who have a severe limitation in movement and function (e.g., limited ability to stand or walk, needs an assistive aid to ambulate, needs assistance with activities of daily living). Reliability data were obtained on the PADS for interrater, test-retest, and internal consistency on the two subscales (Exercise and Activity). The Exercise subscale had an interrater reliability of 0.83 and test/retest reliability of 0.85. The Activity subscale had an interrater reliability of 0.68 and test/retest reliability of 0.66. Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency was 0.78 for the Exercise subscale and 0.68 for the Activity subscale. RESULTS: Results showed very low levels of exercise and general activity patterns in African-American women with physical disabilities. Only 8.2% of the sample participated in leisure-time physical activity, and only 10% engaged in aerobic exercise three or more days per week for at least 15 min. Unstructured physical activity (e.g., work-related activity, housework, gardening, shopping) was nearly absent. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the extremely low levels of self-reported physical activity in African-American women with severe physical disabilities expose them to a higher risk of secondary health conditions.
Subject(s)
Activities of Daily Living , Black or African American , Disabled Persons , Exercise , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Health Status Indicators , Humans , Middle AgedSubject(s)
Exercise , Insurance, Health , Rehabilitation, Vocational/methods , Humans , Quality of Life , Social IsolationABSTRACT
Creatine kinaseBB has been analysed in blood from the umbilical cord and from venous blood within 24 hours after birth in infants without any signs of perinatal asphyxia. S-CKBB activity was found to be much higher than in adults and older children. 25% of the children born after normal vaginal delivery showed very high S-CKBB activities, higher than any of the children born by elective cesarean section. There were, however, no signs of neurological disturbances to be found in any of these children with high neonatal CKBB activities at follow-up after four years.
Subject(s)
Cesarean Section , Creatine Kinase/blood , Delivery, Obstetric , Fetal Blood/enzymology , Infant, Newborn/blood , Humans , IsoenzymesABSTRACT
A 20-year-old man with C7 quadriplegia was admitted to a tertiary care rehabilitation facility 1.5 months after discharge from an acute care community hospital. The patient's goals were to improve his skills in activities of daily living to a level of maximum independence, and to walk. Although his high level of spinal cord injury made ambulation unlikely, an occupational therapist and a rehabilitation engineer, working together, devised a method to help the patient meet his ambulation goal. They modified an ordinary walker by fabricating polyvinyl chloride-acrylic alloy guards lined with foam to reduce palmar pressure. The patient was then able to use wrist and finger extension during walker advancement and was able to ambulate 300m with Craig-Scott orthosis. The case illustrates the importance of a skilled interdisciplinary team in a specialized center for management of spinal cord injured patients.
Subject(s)
Orthopedic Equipment , Patient Care Team , Quadriplegia/rehabilitation , Walkers , Adult , Cooperative Behavior , Equipment Design , Humans , Male , Orthotic DevicesABSTRACT
A method has been developed for assembling a hand support tiller that mounts to the post of a joystick controller of an electrically powered wheelchair. The hand tiller can be custom-designed by the therapist to fit the size, shape, and position of the user's hand. This results in a functional hand grasp that is necessary for the safe operation of the powered wheelchair. The design of the modular hand tiller system consists of low-cost, commercially available plastic tubing and fittings. This allows for an efficient set-up, easy modification, and durability.
Subject(s)
Wheelchairs , Humans , Orthotic DevicesABSTRACT
The brain-type isoenzyme of creatine kinase was determined in serum (S) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 37 patients with severe head injury, and a correlation was made with the Glasgow coma score and Glasgow outcome score. All patients with normal S-CKBB and CSF-CKBB activities had a coma score of 15, i.e., no neurological deficits, at six hours after the trauma and a good outcome. All 15 patients with a significant increase in the enzyme in serum and CSF had a coma score less than 15. The outcome was still good for five of these patients, while six were moderately disabled, two were severely disabled, and two died. There was no correlation between the individual CKBB-values and the outcome.
Subject(s)
Craniocerebral Trauma/enzymology , Creatine Kinase/metabolism , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Child , Craniocerebral Trauma/physiopathology , Creatine Kinase/blood , Creatine Kinase/cerebrospinal fluid , Disability Evaluation , Female , Humans , Hydroxybutyrate Dehydrogenase/blood , Isoenzymes , L-Lactate Dehydrogenase/blood , Male , Middle Aged , PrognosisABSTRACT
In a double-blind, cross-over multicentre trial, the prophylactic antimigraine effect of the beta 1-selective beta-blocker metoprolol was evaluated and compared with that of the non-selective beta-blocker propranolol. Metoprolol was used in a dosage of 50 mg b.i.d. and propranolol in 40 mg b.i.d. 56 patients with classical or common migraine were included in the double-blind part of the investigation. 3 patients withdrew, but none because of side-effects. The data suggest that metoprolol is clinically equivalent in effectiveness to propranolol in migraine prophylaxis regarding parameters such as attack frequency, improvement in sum of severity score and subjective evaluation. Both drugs were generally well tolerated and the number of reported side-effects was similar to those reported during the run-in period (placebo).
Subject(s)
Metoprolol/therapeutic use , Migraine Disorders/prevention & control , Propranolol/therapeutic use , Adolescent , Adult , Analgesics/therapeutic use , Clinical Trials as Topic , Double-Blind Method , Ergotamine/therapeutic use , Female , Hemodynamics/drug effects , Humans , Male , Metoprolol/adverse effects , Middle Aged , Propranolol/adverse effectsABSTRACT
CKBB-isoenzymes in serum and CSF have been shown to be raised in patients after head injury with objective signs of damaged brain tissues (contusio cerebri), but not in the absence of these signs (commotio cerebri).