The Most Cited Original Articles in Brain Imaging of Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Bibliometric Analysis Between 1984 and 2019.

Objective: Brain imaging is important in diagnosing children with cerebral palsy (CP) and in identifying its etiology. To provide study navigation in this field, a bibliometric analysis was conducted by analyzing the most highly cited articles. Methods: The Web of Science All Databases were used for literature search in this study. All original articles on imaging in children with CP were searched. Two reviewers screened the search results independently and eliminated articles based on exclusion criteria such as participants over 20 years old, topics referring to images outside of the brain, or trauma. According to descending order of yearly citation counts, the top 25% of all included articles were considered as highly cited articles. Information such as yearly citations, research purposes, imaging modalities, CP types, and study designs were recorded and analyzed. Results: A total of 50 highly cited articles ranked by yearly citations (from 23.85 to 3.33, 1991-2018) were included in this study. Considering different research purposes, these studies were classified into three categories: diagnosis studies (n = 25; 1991-2017, median: 2011), mechanism studies (n = 15; 1999-2018; median: 2014), and prognosis and therapeutic effect studies (n = 10; 2008-2017; median: 2014.5). First, for diagnosis studies, 22 studies used single modality and three used multi-modalities; the majority of these studies focused on diagnostic value evaluation (n = 10) and image performance (n = 12) of a single type of CP (n = 15) by using descriptive (n = 14) or cross-sectional approaches (n = 10). Second, for mechanism studies, the ratio between single and multi-modality was 8:7; most of these studies concentrated on a single subtype of spastic CP (hemiplegia = 10, quadriplegia = 2) with a cross-sectional study design (n = 10). Third, regarding the prognosis and therapeutic effect studies, the single vs. multi-modality ratio was 5:5, and these studies were dedicated to the efficiency of constraint-induced movement therapy in children with hemiplegia; paired design trials (n = 6) and randomized controlled trials (n = 2) were used more frequently. Conclusion: Studies using multi-modality and high-level evidence-based design to provide information regarding mechanism, prognosis, and therapeutic efficacy may be the potential future research direction in the field of CP research.

The effect of intradialytic combined exercise on hemodialysis efficiency in end-stage renal disease patients: a randomized-controlled trial.

PURPOSE: Insufficient dialysis is a difficult problem for patients undergoing hemodialysis, and causes cardiovascular complications and increases mortality. Increasing aerobic exercise and resistance exercise have been shown to be beneficial to physical fitness of patients undergoing hemodialysis, but a few studies have focused on combined exercise (combination of aerobic and resistance exercise training) and the interaction effect of combined exercise and intervention duration on hemodialysis efficiency. This study aimed to investigate the effects of 24-week combined exercise on hemodialysis efficiency, blood pressure, exercise capacity, and quality of life in patients undergoing hemodialysis. METHODS: In total, 47 eligible subjects were randomly allocated to exercise group and control group. The intervention group performed a 24-week, three times weekly, and moderate-intensity intradialytic combined exercise. Patients in the control group received usual care. The primary outcome was hemodialysis efficiency, which recorded every 4 weeks. Secondary outcomes included blood pressure, exercise capacity, and quality of life, measured at baseline and after 24 weeks of intervention. RESULTS: In intervention group, sp Kt/V significantly improved by 13.2%, and systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure significantly decreased by 8.5 mmHg and 6.5 mmHg, respectively. The 6-min walking distance increased significantly by 43 m (9.8%), but there was no significant change in quality of life. CONCLUSION: Combined exercise and intervention duration had an interaction effect on hemodialysis efficiency. Combined exercise improved blood pressure and physical fitness for patients undergoing hemodialysis, but did not affect quality of life. The extensive benefits of combined exercise provide evidence for the exercise development for patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Exercise Training and Outcomes in Hemodialysis Patients: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate dialysis, renal hypertension, and impaired exercise capacity are factors that affect the quality of life (QoL) and mortality of adults with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis (HD). This systematic review provided valid evidence about the effect of exercise training on single-pool Kt/V (sp Kt/V), blood pressure, and peak uptake oxygen (VO2 peak). METHOD: A systematic review and meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the effects of no <8 weeks' exercise training on the physical fitness outcomes for adults with ESRD undergoing HD were accepted in this study. RESULTS: Included 20 trials (677 participants) indicated that various exercise types improved aerobic capacity, walking capacity, and health-related QoL totally. Of note, aerobic exercise and combined exercise were the predominant exercise types. CONCLUSION: Based on our evidence, aerobic exercise or combined exercise at least for 8 weeks to 12 months, 3 times weekly, will be beneficial to physical conditions of the patients with ESRD undergoing HD. The clinical staff can treat patients with the evidence above. Future studies need to provide more information basis for the construction of patient exercise system by adding various exercise combinations.

Group singing improves depression and life quality in patients with stable COPD: a randomized community-based trial in China.

PURPOSE: To explore the effects of group singing therapy on depression symptoms and quality of life of patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: Patients with COPD were randomly allocated to intervention (n = 30) and control groups (n = 30). The intervention group received group singing therapy once a week for 24 sessions along with routine health education, whereas the control group only received the routine health education. All patients were administered the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale depression subscale (HADS-D) and the Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ). Data were collected at baseline and at 1, 3, and 6 months. RESULTS: Fifty-six participants completed this trial. Significant between-group differences were observed with respect to the main effect of group and time as well as the effect of group × time interaction on HADS-D score. The HADS-D score was significantly improved 1, 3, 6 months after group singing therapy. The CCQ total scores were significantly different between the two groups with respect to the main effect of group and time and the group × time interaction effect. Significantly better CCQ was detected in the intervention group at 3 months and 6 months after intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Group singing therapy reduces depressive symptoms and improves the quality of life of patients with stable COPD.