Kinesiology taping and ankle foot orthosis equivalent therapeutic effects on gait function in stroke patients with foot drop: A preliminary study.

An ankle foot orthosis (AFO) is a standard type of orthosis applied to immediately treat foot drop symptoms. Kinesiology taping (KT) is a therapeutic method used in patients with neurological diseases, such as stroke, as well as in patients after orthopedic and sports injuries. This study aimed to compare outcomes of AFO treatment with those of KT to investigate the effect on gait ability in patients with foot drop after stroke. We recruited 18 patients exhibiting foot drop from stroke. Gait ability was assessed under 2 conditions: treatment with KT and that with AFO using the GAITRite system according to the following parameters: cadence, velocity, swing time, stance time, step length, and stride length. As a result, gait ability after treatment with KT and that after treatment with AFO showed no significant differences in cadence (P = .851), velocity (P = .865), swing time (P = .289 and .123), stance time (P = .255 and .711), step length (P = .955 and .975), and stride length (P = .711 and .690) of the affected and less-affected limbs. This study demonstrated that KT and AFO use have similar effects on gait function in patients with foot drop after stroke. Thus, treatment of foot drop with KT may be an alternative in patients for whom AFO use is contraindicated.

Effect of Dysphagia Rehabilitation Using Kinesiology Taping on Oropharyngeal Muscle Hypertrophy in Post-Stroke Patients: A Double Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: It has recently been shown that suprahyoid muscle exercise using kinesiology taping (KT) increases the activation of the suprahyoid muscle in healthy adults, suggesting a potential therapeutic clinical exercise for dysphagia rehabilitation. This study investigated the effect of dysphagia rehabilitation using KT in stroke patients with dysphagia. METHODS: Thirty subjects in South Korea were enrolled in this prospective placebo-controlled double-blind study. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and sham groups. In the experimental group, the tape was attached to the hyolaryngeal complex, pulled downward with approximately 70% tension, and then attached to the sternum and the clavicle bilaterally. In the sham group, the tape was applied similarly but without the tension. Both groups performed voluntary swallowing 50 times (10 times swallowing per set, times 5 sets) a day for 4 weeks with KT applied. Outcome measures were assessed using portable ultrasound equipment. The parameter measured was the change in thickness of the tongue muscle, mylohyoid muscle, and the anterior belly of the digastric muscle. RESULTS: The experimental group showed statistically significant changes in the thickness of the tongue muscle, mylohyoid muscle, and anterior belly of the digastric muscle than the sham group (p = 0.007, 0.002, and 0.001). CONCLUSION: Dysphagia rehabilitation using KT is a technique that may promote oropharyngeal muscle thickness in patients with dysphagia after stroke.

Cortical changes after mental imagery training combined with electromyography-triggered electrical stimulation in patients with chronic stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Paresis of the upper extremity after stroke is not effectively solved by existing therapies. We investigated whether mental imagery training combined with electromyogram-triggered electric stimulation improved motor function of the paretic upper extremity in patients with chronic stroke and induced cortical changes. METHODS: Fourteen subjects with chronic stroke (≥12 months) were randomly allocated to receive mental imagery training combined with electromyogram-triggered electric stimulation (n=7) or generalized functional electric stimulation (n=7) on the forearm extensor muscles of the paretic extremity in 2 20-minute daily sessions 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The upper extremity component of the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment, the Motor Activity Log, the modified Barthel Index, and (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose brain positron emission tomography were measured before and after the intervention. RESULTS: The group receiving mental imagery training combined with electromyogram-triggered electric stimulation exhibited significant improvements in the upper extremity component of the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment after intervention (median, 7; interquartile range, 5-8; P<0.05), but the group receiving functional electric stimulation did not (median, 0; interquartile range, 0-3). Differences in score changes between the 2 groups were significant. The mental imagery training combined with electromyogram-triggered electric stimulation group showed significantly increased metabolism in the contralesional supplementary motor, precentral, and postcentral gyri (P(uncorrected)<0.001) after the intervention, but the functional electric stimulation group showed no significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: Mental imagery training combined with electromyogram-triggered electric stimulation improved motor function of the paretic extremity in patients with chronic stroke. The intervention increased metabolism in the contralesional motor-sensory cortex. Clinical Trial Registration- URL: https://e-irb.khmccri.or.kr/eirb/receipt/index.html?code=02&status=5. Unique identifier: KHUHMDIRB 1008-02.

Rehmannia glutinosa ameliorates the progressive renal failure induced by 5/6 nephrectomy.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Rehmannia glutinosa, the steamed root of the Scrophulariaceae family, has been widely used in Asian countries for the treatment of renal diseases. In this study, we evaluated the renoprotective effect of aqueous extract of Rehmannia glutinosa in progressive renal failure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of Rehmannia glutinosa on renal function, 24-h proteinuria, and the expression of angiotensin II, angiotensin II type 1 (AT(1)) receptor, TGF-beta1, and type IV collagen in renal cortex were analyzed in progressive renal failure rats induced by 5/6 nephrectomy. RESULTS: Rehmannia glutinosa reduced the serum creatinine level, 24-h urinary protein excretion, and glomerulosclerosis, and it also inhibited the expression of angiotensin II, AT(1) receptor, TGF-beta1 and type IV collagen in the renal cortex. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the renoprotective effect of Rehmannia glutinosa might be mediated by suppressing the expression of angiotensin II and AT(1) receptor and by regulating TGF-beta1 and type IV collagen expression.