Efecto del entrenamiento en cinta rodante sobre la marcha y el riesgo de caída en personas adultas con parálisis cerebral / Effect of training on a treadmill on gait and risk of falls in adult persons with cerebral palsy cerebral

OBJETIVOS: El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar el efecto del entrenamiento en cinta rodante combinado con terapia convencional vs. terapia convencional en personas adultas con parálisis cerebral sobre la marcha, el equilibrio y el riesgo de caída. Material y métodos Estudio longitudinal prospectivo y controlado. Participan 11 personas adultas con parálisis cerebral, nivel Gross Motor Function Classification System i-iii , divididas en 2 grupos (n = 6 intervención y n = 5 control). El grupo intervención realiza entrenamiento en cinta rodante más la terapia convenida. El grupo control solo recibe la terapia convenida. Los efectos de esta intervención se determinaron mediante el Test Up and Go, el promedio de la frecuencia cardíaca, la velocidad de marcha y la distancia recorrida en cada sesión. Resultados Mejora estadísticamente significativa en el Test Up and Go, velocidad de marcha y distancia recorrida dentro del grupo intervención. Conclusiones El entrenamiento en cinta rodante combinado con la terapia convencional puede ser un tipo de intervención terapéutica beneficiosa para la mejora de la marcha y la disminución del riesgo de caída en personas adultas con parálisis cerebral

OBJECTIVE: This study has aimed to determine the effect of training on a treadmill combined with conventional therapy versus conventional therapy in adults with cerebral palsy on gait, balance and fall risk. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective, controlled, longitudinal study that included 11 adults patients with cerebral palsy, gross motor functional classification system level i-iii was performed. They were divided into two groups: intervention group (n = 6) and control group (n = 5).The intervention group received treadmill training combined with agreed therapy while the control group only received agreed therapy. The effects of this treatment were determined by analyzing the results of the Test Up and Go, average heart rate, walking speed and distance covered in each session. RESULTS: The was a statistically significant improvement in the intervention group in the Test Up and Go, walking speed and distance covered. CONCLUSIONS: Treadmill training combined with conventional therapy could be a beneficial therapeutic tool to improve gait, balance and fall risk in adult's people with cerebral palsy

Pregnancy outcome in ethanol-treated mice with folic acid supplementation in saccharose.

INTRODUCTION: Maternal folic acid deficiency is the most important metabolic factor in the etiology of neural tube defects (NTD) and is reduced by ethanol, which is extensively consumed by young women. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine whether folic acid supplementation in dietary saccharose is efficient in the prevention NTD induced by ethanol in fetuses of Swiss mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pregnant mice were divided into four groups of six animals each: control (C), ethanol (E), deficient-supplemented (DS), and deficient-supplemented + ethanol (DSE). Groups C and E received commercial mouse chow (containing 3 mg/kg folic acid) throughout the experiment, while groups DS and DSE received a folic acid-free diet with the addition of saccharose supplemented with folic acid (2 mg/kg folic acid) in water. Group E and DSE animals received ethanol (4 g/kg) administered intraperitoneally from the seventh to the ninth gestational day (gd) and were euthanized on the 18th gd, while groups C and DS received saline. RESULTS: Congenital anomalies were observed in groups E and DSE. The fetal weight and length of the animals in group E were lower than in groups C and DS and, in group DSE, were lower than in groups C and DS. The placental diameter of group E was smaller than that of group C, and the placental weight of group C animals was lower than that of groups E, DSE, and DS. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated that dietary supplementation with folate in saccharose is an accessible means of consumption that could be further diffused but in an increased dose than recommended to reduce the teratogenic effects of ethanol.

Rapid subtyping of dengue virus serotypes 1 and 4 by restriction site-specific PCR.

We previously reported a simple subtyping method, restriction site-specific PCR (RSS-PCR), for dengue virus serotypes 2 and 3; here we describe its application for subtyping dengue virus serotypes 1 and 4. Three major RSS-PCR types were observed for dengue virus serotype 1 and two types were observed for dengue virus serotype 4, in agreement with previous strain classifications based on sequence analysis. Because of its simplicity, this method is amenable to rapid subtyping and application to epidemiological studies of dengue in countries where dengue is endemic.

Application of molecular typing techniques in the 1998 dengue epidemic in Nicaragua.

This report presents the results of applying the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to the analysis of clinical specimens during the 1998 dengue epidemic in Nicaragua. The RT-PCR was validated through comparison with viral isolation, resulting in a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 90%. In-country application of the RT-PCR permitted the rapid identification of dengue-3 virus as the cause of the epidemic at the beginning of 1998 and the detection of the reintroduction of dengue-2 virus in the middle of the year. Nineteen isolates of dengue-3 and one of dengue-2 were characterized using the restriction site-specific (RSS)-PCR technique. This showed that the dengue-3 strain belonged to the "Sri Lanka" subtype and that the dengue-2 strain belonged to the "Jamaica" subtype, both of which have been associated with hemorrhagic dengue in the Americas. The application of these simple PCR-based strain typing methods in a country endemic for dengue virus infections can help to characterize the transmission dynamics of this important emerging infectious disease problem and provide this information to local health authorities in a timely manner so that appropriate control measures can be implemented.