Effectiveness of action observation treatment based on pathological model in hemiplegic children: a randomized-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Action observation treatment (AOT) is an innovative therapeutic approach consisting in the observation of actions followed by their subsequent repetition. The standard version of AOT consists in the observation/imitation of a typically developed individual, which is proposed as model (TDM-AOT). AIM: This study aims to compare the effectiveness of AOT based on a pathological ameliorative model (PAM-AOT) versus TDM-AOT in improving upper limb ability in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP). DESIGN: The study consists in a prospective randomized controlled, evaluator-blinded trial (RCT), with two active arms, designed to evaluate the effectiveness of AOT based on pathological model (PAM-AOT) as compared to a standard AOT based on TDM (TDM-AOT). SETTING: The 3-week AOT program was administered in a clinical setting. For some patients, the treatment was delivered at participant's home with the remote support of the physiotherapist (tele-rehabilitation). POPULATION: Twenty-six children with UCP (mean age 10.5±3.09 years; 14 females) participated in the study, with the experimental group observing a pathological model and the control group observing a typically developed model. METHODS: Motor assessments included unimanual and bimanual ability measures conducted at T0 (baseline, before the treatment), T1 (3 weeks after T0), T2 (8-12 weeks after treatment) and T3 (24-28 weeks after treatment); a subset of 16 patients also underwent fMRI motor assessment. Generalized Estimating Equations models were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Both groups showed significant improvement in bimanual function (GEE, Wald 106.16; P<0.001) at T1 (P<0.001), T2 (P<0.001), and T3 (P<0.001). Noteworthy, the experimental group showed greater improvement than the control group immediately after treatment (P<0.013). Both groups exhibited similar improvement in unimanual ability (GEE, Wald 25.49; P<0.001). The fMRI assessments revealed increased activation of ventral premotor cortex after treatment in the experimental compared with control group (GEE, Wald 6.26; P<0.012). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this study highlights the effectiveness of PAM-AOT in achieving short-term improvement of upper limb ability in children with UCP. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: These findings have significant implications for rehabilitative interventions based on AOT in hemiplegic children, by proposing a non-traditional approach focused on the most functional improvement achievable by imitating a pathological model.

Lesion mapping and functional characterization of hemiplegic children with different patterns of hand manipulation.

Brain damage in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP) affects motor function, with varying severity, making it difficult the performance of daily actions. Recently, qualitative and semi-quantitative methods have been developed for lesion classification, but studies on mild to moderate hand impairment are lacking. The present study aimed to characterize lesion topography and preserved brain areas in UCP children with specific patterns of hand manipulation. A homogeneous sample of 16 UCP children, aged 9 to 14 years, was enrolled in the study. Motor assessment included the characterization of the specific pattern of hand manipulation, by means of unimanual and bimanual measures (Kinematic Hand Classification, KHC; Manual Ability Classification System, MACS; House Functional Classification System, HFCS; Melbourne Unilateral Upper Limb Assessment, MUUL; Assisting Hand Assessment, AHA). The MRI morphological study included multiple methods: (a) qualitative lesion classification, (b) semi-quantitative classification (sq-MRI), (c) voxel-based morphometry comparing UCP and typically developed children (VBM-DARTEL), and (d) quantitative brain tissue segmentation (q-BTS). In addition, functional MRI was used to assess spared functional activations and cluster lateralization in the ipsilesional and contralesional hemispheres of UCP children during the execution of simple movements and grasping actions with the more affected hand. Lesions most frequently involved the periventricular white matter, corpus callosum, posterior limb of the internal capsule, thalamus, basal ganglia and brainstem. VMB-DARTEL analysis allowed to detect mainly white matter lesions. Both sq-MRI classification and q-BTS identified lesions of thalamus, brainstem, and basal ganglia. In particular, UCP patients with synergic hand pattern showed larger involvement of subcortical structures, as compared to those with semi-functional hand. Furthermore, sparing of gray matter in basal ganglia and thalamus was positively correlated with MUUL and AHA scores. Concerning white matter, q-BTS revealed a larger damage of fronto-striatal connections in patients with synergic hand, as compared to those with semi-functional hand. The volume of these connections was correlated to unimanual function (MUUL score). The fMRI results showed that all patients, but one, including those with cortical lesions, had activation in ipsilesional areas, regardless of lesion timing. Children with synergic hand showed more lateralized activation in the ipsilesional hemisphere both during grasping and simple movements, while children with semi-functional hand exhibited more bilateral activation during grasping. The study demonstrates that lesion localization, rather than lesion type based on the timing of their occurrence, is more associated with the functional level of hand manipulation. Overall, the preservation of subcortical structures and white matter can predict a better functional outcome. Future studies integrating different techniques (structural and functional imaging, TMS) could provide further evidence on the relation between brain reorganization and specific pattern of manipulation in UCP children.

Reliability and construct validity of the Activities Scale for Kids in Italian children with cerebral palsy.

PURPOSE: To investigate internal consistency and construct validity of the of the Activities Scale for Kids performance (ASKp) in Italian children with cerebral palsy (CP). METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from 2014 up to 2019 and consisted in the single self-administration of the Italian ASKp to 206 children aged 5-15, with unilateral or bilateral CP, classified on the basis of the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). RESULTS: The ASKp showed good internal consistency (Chronbach's α 0.91, 95% CI 0.89-0.93). It distinguished between children and adolescents (70.3 ± 16.6 versus 83.0 ± 18.0, respectively; p < 0.001), unilateral and bilateral CP clinical manifestations (82.5 ± 13.6 versus 72.4 ± 19.0, respectively; p = 0.002), children with and without intellectual disability (60.3 ± 18.3 versus 77.2 ± 17.3, respectively; p < 0.001). It also distinguished children using assistive devices for indoor mobility from children who did not use devices or those who use devices only for outdoor mobility (66.1 ± 18.3 versus 83.6 ± 12.8 and versus 80.4 ± 17.4, respectively; both p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The ASKp could help integrate the perspective of children with CP in their rehabilitation process. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03325842IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONThe ASKp is a valid and widely used measure for several ICF domains of activities and participation in pediatrics.It has never been formally validated in children with CP, although this disorder causes restrictions in everyday activities.Recently, the culturally adapted Italian version of the ASKp has been tested in typically developing Italian children, confirming its high acceptability and providing evidence of construct validity.This study confirms the internal consistency reliability and the construct validity of the Italian ASKp when applied to the population with CP.The ASKp can support rehabilitation professionals in planning therapeutic intervention targeted to relevant goals.

Construct Validity of the Activities Scale for Kids Performance in Children with Cerebral Palsy: Brief Report.

Aims: This study collects evidence of construct convergent validity of the Activity Scale for Kids performance (ASKp), comparing its results with the 66-item Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66) and with the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and testing the ASKp's ability to discriminate between individuals with different functional capabilities. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 60 children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) assessed with the GMFM-66 who self-administered the Italian version of the ASKp. Results: Children were 10.9 (±3) years old with GMFCS Level I-III. Moderate correlations were found between GMFM and ASKp scores (r = 0.577; p < .001), and between GMFCS levels and ASKp score (rs = -0.541, p < .001). The ASKp discriminated between children with different functional capabilities, determined by the GMFCS (F = 18.2, p < .001). Conclusions: ASKp is valid to assess physical functioning, a crucial domain in rehabilitation of children with spastic CP. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03325842.

Are perceptual disorder signs in diplegic cerebral palsied children stable over time? A retrospective cohort analysis.

BACKGROUND: A group of diplegic cerebral palsied (CP) children presents six precise signs that can be easily observed during clinical examinations, physiotherapy sessions and everyday activities. These signs are: startle reaction, upper limbs in startle position, averted-eye gaze, grimaces, eye blinking and posture freezing. METHODS: In a population of 32 diplegic CP children (aged 1-8 years) perceptual signs were retrospectively identified through videos to verify their stability in the same child over time. RESULTS: Startle reaction, upper limb in startle position and posture freezing were the most frequently observed signs and the easiest to recognize with the highest agreement in both observations (P<0.001). Eye signs (eye blinking and averted-eye gaze) were more difficult to detect in our recordings. CONCLUSIONS: Signs of perceptual disorders were present in our sample of diplegic CP children from the second year of age and could still be observed after 1- to 3-year intervals, demonstrating they remain unaltered over time. Furthermore, if absent in the first observation, they did not appear later on. CP children with these perceptual signs could represent a new clinical entity, which we are currently describing and defining.