ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Gait evaluation in patients with dizziness is essential during both initial evaluation and vestibular rehabilitation. Inertial measurement unit (IMU)-based gait analysis systems are clinically applicable in patients with dizziness. Since dizzy patients can utilize visual inputs to compensate for vestibular deficits, it is more difficult for them to walk with their eyes closed (EC). In this study, we compared gait characteristics during forward walking with both eyes open (EO) and EC between healthy subjects and dizzy patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-nine healthy controls (mean age 37.18±10.71 years) and 23 patients with dizziness (mean age 49.25±15.16 years) were subjected to vestibular and gait analyses. Medical histories, physical examinations, and vestibular function tests ruled out possible vestibular deficits in the controls. Subjects were instructed to walk at a comfortable pace for 10 m under two conditions (EO or EC). Spatiotemporal parameters, kinematics, and simulated kinetics of each gait recording were recorded using a shoe-type IMU system and analyzed. RESULTS: Although gait speeds were slower, stride lengths were smaller, and double support times were increased under the EC, compared to the EO condition, in both healthy subjects and dizzy patients, the difference was more prominent in dizzy patients. Phase coordination index values did not differ significantly in either group. Gait asymmetry (GA) increased significantly under the EC condition, compared to the EO condition, in dizzy patients. CONCLUSION: GA during forward walking was greater in dizzy patients under an EC condition than under an EO condition.
Subject(s)
Gait , Walking , Adult , Biomechanical Phenomena , Healthy Volunteers , Humans , Middle AgedABSTRACT
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.684519.].
ABSTRACT
To investigate the effect of choline alfoscerate (CA) on hearing amplification in patients with age related hearing loss, we performed a prospective case-control observational study from March 2016 to September 2020. We assessed patients with bilateral word recognition score (WRS) <50% using monosyllabic words. The patients were 65-85 years old, without any history of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, parkinsonism, or depression. After enrollment, all patients started using hearing aids (HA). The CA group received a daily dose of 800 mg CA for 11 months. We performed between-group comparisons of audiological data, including pure tone audiometry, WRS, HA fitting data obtained using real-ear measurement (REM), and the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid benefit scores after treatment. After CA administration, the WRS improved significantly in the CA group (4.2 ± 8.3%), but deteriorated in the control group (-0.6 ± 8.1%, p = 0.035). However, there was no significant between-group difference in the change in pure tone thresholds and aided speech intelligibility index calculated from REM. These findings suggest that the difference in WRS was relevant to central speech understanding rather than peripheral audibility. Therefore, administering oral CA could effectively enrich listening comprehension in older HA users.
ABSTRACT
Editorial committees review article submissions and subsequently influence the content of professional journals. In this bibliographical study, the researchers investigated the characteristics of Journal of Music Therapy (JMT) editorial committee between 1964 and 2007 using four publication periods. Data were tabulated using the journal's masthead and online library databases. Results indicated that the number of editors who had publications in JMT prior to their initial appointment, the percentage of female editors, and the number of listed affiliated institutions increased over time. Female editors published more articles than did male editors during the last two decades. University of Kansas, Florida State University, and New York University contributed the most alumni to the committee. The researchers identified a possible link between certain historical events, such as the formation of the American Music Therapy Association, and the composition, and the size of the committee's roster.
