RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Focal hand dystonia is a movement disorder whose symptoms cause alterations in the performance of tasks requiring a high level of dexterity. Currently, there is no model for interpreting the disease and few studies have identified the difficulties of patients with dystonia in carrying out activities of daily living (ADL). This study aims to describe manipulative dexterity and its influence on ADLs in patients with focal hand dystonia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed an observational, cross-sectional, case-control study including 24 participants (12 patients with focal hand dystonia and 12 controls). The patients were referred by the neurology department of Hospital Ramón y Cajal. We gathered sociodemographic data, as well as retrospective clinical data for patients. We subsequently administered evaluation tests, in the following order: Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT), Box and Blocks Test (BBT), Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT), and Jebsen-Taylor Test of Hand Function (JTTHF). RESULTS: The study sample included a total of 24 participants, 7 women and 17 men, with a mean age (standard deviation) of 50.79 (14.40) years. In the patient group, neuromuscular involvement or psycho-emotional problems were not detected in half of cases; smaller numbers of patients presented difficulties associated with the right shoulder (25%) and anxious state (33.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that focal hand dystonia affects manipulative dexterity in these patients, who showed poorer performance and required more time to complete the tasks.
Assuntos
Atividades Cotidianas , Masculino , Humanos , Feminino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estudos Transversais , Estudos Retrospectivos , Estudos de Casos e ControlesRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Focal hand dystonia is a movement disorder whose symptoms cause alterations in the performance of tasks requiring a high level of dexterity. Currently, there is no model for interpreting the disease and few studies have identified the difficulties of patients with dystonia in carrying out activities of daily living (ADL). This study aims to describe manipulative dexterity and its influence on ADLs in patients with focal hand dystonia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed an observational, cross-sectional, case-control study including 24 participants (12 patients with focal hand dystonia and 12 controls). The patients were referred by the neurology department of Hospital Ramón y Cajal. We gathered sociodemographic data, as well as retrospective clinical data for patients. We subsequently administered evaluation tests, in the following order: Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT), Box and Blocks Test (BBT), Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT), and Jebsen-Taylor Test of Hand Function (JTTHF). RESULTS: The study sample included a total of 24 participants, 7 women and 17 men, with a mean age (standard deviation) of 50.79 (14.40) years. In the patient group, neuromuscular involvement or psycho-emotional problems were not detected in half of cases; smaller numbers of patients presented difficulties associated with the right shoulder (25%) and anxious state (33.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that focal hand dystonia affects manipulative dexterity in these patients, who showed poorer performance and required more time to complete the tasks.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience marked challenges with social function by definition, but few modifiable predictors of social functioning in ASD have been identified in extant research. This study hypothesized that deficits in social cognition and motor function may help to explain poor social functioning in individuals with ASD. METHOD: Cross-sectional data from 108 individuals with ASD and without intellectual disability ages 9 through 27.5 were used to assess the relationship between social cognition and motor function, and social functioning. RESULTS: Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that greater social cognition, but not motor function, was significantly associated with better social functioning when controlling for sex, age, and intelligence quotient. Post-hoc analyses revealed that, better performance on second-order false belief tasks was associated with higher levels of socially adaptive behavior and lower levels of social problems. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the development and testing of interventions that target social cognition in order to improve social functioning in individuals with ASD. Interventions that teach generalizable skills to help people with ASD better understand social situations and develop competency in advanced perspective taking have the potential to create more durable change because their effects can be applied to a wide and varied set of situations and not simply a prescribed set of rehearsed situations.