Robot-assisted gait training is not superior to balance training for improving postural instability in patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease: a single-blind randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: The main aim was to compare robotic gait training vs. balance training for reducing postural instability in patients with Parkinson's disease. The secondary aim was to compare their effects on the level of confidence during activities of daily living requiring balance, functional mobility and severity of disease. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: University hospital. SUBJECTS: A total of 66 patients with Parkinson's disease at Hoehn and Yahr Stage 3. INTERVENTION: After balanced randomization, all patients received 12, 45-minute treatment sessions, three days a week, for four consecutive weeks. A group underwent robot-assisted gait training with progressive gait speed increasing and body-weight support decreasing. The other group underwent balance training aimed at improving postural reactions (self and externally induced destabilization, coordination, locomotor dexterity exercises). MAIN MEASURES: Patients were evaluated before, after and one month posttreatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Berg Balance Scale. SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale; Timed Up and Go Test; Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the groups for the Berg Balance Scale either immediately after intervention (mean score in the robotic training group 51.58 ±3.94; mean score in the balance training group 51.15 ±3.46), or one-month follow-up (mean score in the robotic training group 51.03 ±4.63; mean score in the balance training group 50.97 ±4.28). Similar results were found for all the secondary outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that robotic gait training is not superior to balance training for improving postural instability in patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease.

Glucosinolates in Diplotaxis and Eruca leaves: diversity, taxonomic relations and applied aspects.

Leaf glucosinolates of 42 Diplotaxis and 21 Eruca accessions were studied. Total content ranged from 0.25 to more than 70 g kg(-1) dry wt. The 13 clusters, defined on the basis of glucosinolate composition, belonged to two glucosinolate-rich groups, characterised by the prevalence of a single component, and one low-glucosinolate group, with a profile not dominated by any individual component. A sinigrin-rich cluster (D. ibicensis, D. berthautii, D. ilorcitana, D. siettiana, D. tenuisiliqua, D. brevisiliqua, and D. virgata) and a gluconapin-rich cluster (D. catholica, D.siifolia, D. virgata, and D. ollivieri) included all the species previously classified in the nigra phylogenetic lineage. D. virgata was confirmed to be a critical taxon, with one accession slightly diverging from the others. D. siifolia subsp. vicentina was separated from the others in a glucobrassicin-rich cluster. D. harra, a rather isolated representative of sub-genus Hesperidium, clustered together D. assurgens in a sinalbin-rich cluster. Another well defined cluster was represented by D. brachycarpa (gluconasturtin). The two sub-species of D. erucoides were well differentiated by their glucosinolate profile. The low glucosinolate species: D. tenuifolia, D. viminea, D. cretacea, D. muralis (subgenus Diplotaxis), and E. vesicaria, all previously included in the rapa/oleracea lineage, belonged to seven less defined clusters, mainly differing on the presence/absence or the relative abundance of some components (glucoraphanin, glucolepidin, 4-hydroxy-glucobrassicin, 4-phenylbutyl gls, glucoerucin and neoglucobrassicin). The data support previous taxonomic works. Glucosinolate-rich taxa, with well characterised profiles may be suitable for industrial uses, whereas the variability of edible D. tenuifolia and E. vesicaria may represent a basis for breeding horticultural types.

Robot-assisted gait training versus equal intensity treadmill training in patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of evidence about the most effective strategy for training gait in mild to moderate Parkinson's disease. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of robotic gait training versus equal intensity treadmill training and conventional physiotherapy on walking ability in patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease. METHODS: Sixty patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease (Hoehn & Yahr stage 3) were randomly assigned into three groups. All patients received twelve, 45-min treatment sessions, three days a week, for four consecutive weeks. The Robotic Gait Training group (n = 20) underwent robot-assisted gait training. The Treadmill Training group (n = 20) performed equal intensity treadmill training without body-weight support. The Physical Therapy group (n = 20) underwent conventional gait therapy according to the proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation concept. Patients were evaluated before, after and 3 months post-treatment. Primary outcomes were the following timed tasks: 10-m walking test, 6-min walking test. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was found on the primary outcome measures between the Robotic Gait Training group and the Treadmill Training group at the after treatment evaluation. A statistically significant improvement was found after treatment on the primary outcomes in favor of the Robotic Gait Training group and Treadmill Training group compared to the Physical Therapy group. Findings were confirmed at the 3-month follow-up evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the hypothesis that robotic gait training is not superior to equal intensity treadmill training for improving walking ability in patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease.

Effect of cultivar on the protection of cardiomyocytes from oxidative stress by essential oils and aqueous extracts of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.).

Notwithstanding the wide range of biological and pharmacological activities reported for sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), many discrepancies are still present in the evaluation of its health-promoting properties. These discordances could be at least in part due to insufficient details of qualitative and quantitative composition, connected to the ample variability of this species. Furthermore, many investigations have been carried out in vitro, with few data available on the effectiveness in biological systems. In this study, the protective effect of essential oils and water-soluble extracts derived from three different cultivars of sweet basil has been evaluated in cultured cardiomyocytes. To verify the effectiveness of supplemented oils/extracts in counteracting oxidative damage, cardiomyocytes were stressed by the addition of hydrogen peroxide. The results indicate that (a) in vitro antioxidant activity is not predictive of biological activity and (b) basil can yield extracts with substantially different protective effects, in relation to composition and extraction techniques. Variation among different cultivars has also been detected.