ABSTRACT
This pilot study was designed to investigate the effects of a holistic lighting intervention on the quality of life for individuals with low vision. Sixty participants (44 women; median age 69 years) with visual impairment received lighting interventions, including a home visit and consultation in a lighting lab. Assisted by low vision consultants, participants evaluated their performance using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) before and after the intervention. Improvements in visual functioning and quality of life were evaluated using the 39-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-39), the Groffman Visual Tracing Test, and the Farnsworth Dichotomous Test (D15). Following the lighting intervention, scores improved for all activities in the COPM (p < 0.01), for near activities and vision-specific role difficulties in the VFQ-39 (p < 0.05), and overall in the D15 test (p < 0.05). These results suggest the intervention provided an effective method for improving the participants' quality of life and performance.
Subject(s)
Occupational Therapy , Vision, Low , Humans , Female , Aged , Quality of Life , Lighting , Pilot Projects , Visual Acuity , Canada , Vision Disorders , Surveys and Questionnaires , Sickness Impact ProfileABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of D-amphetamine (D-amph) and physical therapy separately or combined on fine motor performance, gross motor performance and cognition after middle cerebral artery thromboembolization in rats. METHODS: Seventy-four rats were trained in appropriate cognitive and motor behaviours. Thirteen animals were sham-operated and fifty-nine animals were embolized in the right carotid territory. Animals were randomly assigned to five groups: 1) SHAM (non-embolized, saline), 2) CONTROL (embolized, saline), 3) D-AMPH (embolized, D-amph), 4) THERAPY (embolized, saline + physical therapy) and 5) D-AMPH + THERAPY (embolized, D-amph + physical therapy). Rats of the groups 4-5 underwent d-amph or saline treatment on days 1, 3, 5 and 7 after surgery and were re-trained for 1 h starting 60 min after each treatment. During this time, rats were allowed to voluntarily engage in suitable cognitive or motor behaviours in order to obtain food. Animals from all groups were re-tested during days 21-28 after surgery. RESULTS: No differences in infarct volumes were observed between the groups of embolized animals. When evaluating performances on days 21-28 after surgery, rats of the SHAM and THERAPY groups had better fine motor performance than those of the CONTROL (P < 0.05), whereas rats of SHAM and D-AMPH groups achieved better cognitive performance than CONTROL rats (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed between any groups regarding gross motor performance. CONCLUSIONS: After embolization, physical therapy improved fine motor performance and D-amph accelerated rehabilitation of cognitive performance as observed in the rats of the THERAPY and D-AMPH groups. As a result of the administration of a high dose of D-amph, the rats of the D-AMPH + THERAPY combination group failed to engage in physical therapy during D-amph intoxication, thereby limiting any promotion of rehabilitation by combining physical therapy and D-amph.
Subject(s)
Central Nervous System Stimulants/therapeutic use , Cognition Disorders/rehabilitation , Dextroamphetamine/therapeutic use , Intracranial Embolism/complications , Intracranial Embolism/rehabilitation , Motor Skills Disorders/etiology , Motor Skills Disorders/rehabilitation , Stroke Rehabilitation , Stroke/drug therapy , Animals , Central Nervous System Stimulants/pharmacology , Cognition Disorders/etiology , Dextroamphetamine/pharmacology , Disease Models, Animal , Male , Middle Cerebral Artery , Physical Therapy Modalities , Rats , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , ThromboembolismABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The effects of pentasaccharide (PENTA), given alone or combined with thrombolysis using recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA), on infarct size and clinical outcome were evaluated in a rat embolic stroke model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety-two rats were embolized unilaterally and assigned to: (i). controls, (ii). rt-PA 6 mg/kg, (iii). PENTA 0.5 mg/kg, (iv). PENTA 0.5 mg/kg and rt-PA 6 mg/kg. After 2 days animals were killed, the brains removed and evaluated microscopically. RESULTS: The median infarct size measured in percentage of the affected hemisphere was 25% in the control group, 4% (P < 0.01, Mann Whitney) in group 2, 19% (n.s.) in group 3, and 10% (P < 0.05) in group 4. rt-PA, and rt-PA combined with PENTA also promoted functional recovery. CONCLUSION: The present study found no effect of 0.5 mg/kg PENTA treatment. Compared with rt-PA treatment alone, 0.5 mg/kg PENTA alone or combined with rt-PA did not significantly increase mortality or tendency for hemorrhage.
