A longer Achilles tendon moment arm length is not associated with superior hopping performance.

Variability in musculoskeletal and lower leg structure has the potential to influence hopping height. Achilles tendon moment arm length and plantarflexor muscle strength can influence ankle joint torque development and, consequently, hopping performance. While most studies have examined the connection of the Achilles tendon moment arm with hopping performance including the resting length, in this study we attempted to explore how the changes in Achilles tendon moment arm are related to hopping performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to test for correlations between foot and lower leg muscle structure parameters (i.e., muscle mass, volume, cross-sectional area and Achilles tendon moment arm length) and hopping height performance in relation to changes in Achilles tendon moment arm length. Eighteen participants (10 males 8 female) performed repetitive bilateral hopping on a force platform while sagittal plane kinematics of the lower leg were recorded. Additionally, maximal isometric plantarflexion was measured. To obtain structural parameters of the lower leg, the right lower leg of each participant was scanned with magnetic resonance imaging. The cross-sectional areas of the Achilles tendon, soleus, lateral and medial gastrocnemius were measured, while muscle volumes, muscle mass, and Achilles tendon moment arm length were calculated. Contrary to our initial assumption, longer Achilles tendon moment arm did not result in superior hopping performance. Interestingly, neither maximal isometric plantarflexion force nor muscle size correlated with repetitive bilateral hopping performance. We can assume that the mechanical characteristics of the tendon and the effective utilization of the stored strain energy in the tendon may play a more important role in repetitive hopping than the structural parameters of the lower leg.

An Acute Transition from Rearfoot to Forefoot Strike does not Induce Major Changes in Plantarflexor Muscles Activation for Habitual Rearfoot Strike Runners.

Footstrike pattern has received increased attention within the running community because there is a common belief that forefoot strike running (FFS) is more advantageous (i.e., improve performance and reduce running injuries) than rearfoot strike running (RFS) in distance running. Literature reports suggest greater knee joint flexion magnitude and initial knee angle during stance in FFS compared with RFS running We examined the EMG activation of the triceps surae muscles during an acute transition from RFS to FFS strike. We tested the hypothesis that due to larger knee flexion in FFS the gastrocnemius muscles possibly decrease their EMG activity because muscle fascicles operate under unfavorable conditions. Fourteen competitive healthy middle- and long-distance runners who were habitual RFS runners ran on a treadmill at three speeds: 12, 14, and 16 km·h-1. Each running speed was performed with both FFS and RFS patterns. Lower limb kinematics in the sagittal plane and normalized electromyography (EMG) activity of medial gastrocnemius proximal, middle and distal regions, lateral gastrocnemius and soleus muscles were compared between footstrike patterns and running speeds across the stride cycle. Contrary to our expectations, the knee joint range of motion was similar in FFS and RFS running. However, the sagittal plane ankle joint motion was greater (p < 0.01) while running with FFS, resulting in a significantly greater muscle-tendon unit lengthening (p < 0.01) in FFS compared with RFS running. In addition, medial and lateral gastrocnemius showed higher EMG activity in FFS compared with RFS running in the late swing and early stance but only for a small percentage of the stride cycle. However, strike patterns and running speed failed to induce region-specific activation differences within the medial gastrocnemius muscle. Overall, well-trained RFS runners are able to change to FFS running by altering only the ankle joint kinematics without remarkably changing the EMG activity pattern.

Clinical analysis of 3 adult-onset patients with genetically diagnosed familial neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease / 中华神经医学杂志

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of adult-onset patients with familial neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID).Methods:The clinical data of 3 patients with familial NIID genetically diagnosed in Department of Neurology, Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University in August 2021, January 2022, and August 2022 were collected. Their clinical manifestations, imaging features, pathological features, Notch2 N-terminal-like C ( NOTCH2NLC) gene mutation characteristics, treatment methods and prognoses were summarized retrospectively. Results:The age of these 3 patients was 73, 67, and 65 years, and the onset age was 68, 64, and 56 years, respectively. The clinical manifestations are highly heterogeneous. In patient 1, the nervous centralis, peripheral nerves and autonomic nerves were involved, appearing dementia, epilepsy, Parkinson's syndrome, muscle weakness and uremia; in patient 2, only the nervous centralis were involved, presenting symptoms of Parkinson's syndrome; in patient 3, peripheral nerves and autonomic nerves were involved, prominently presenting with repeated vomiting. Skull diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) showed asymmetric high signal at the dermo-medullary junction in 3 patients. Acidophilic inclusion bodies in some sudoriferous duct epithelial cells, and vascular endothelial nucleus were found in the skin biopsy of 2 patients. All 3 patients completed NOTCH2NL gene test, and all had GGC repeat amplification mutations with mutation frequency>134. These 3 patients were mainly treated symptomatically, and the disease was still progressed gradually. Conclusion:The clinical manifestations of familial NIID are highly heterogeneous; skull MRI characteristic changes and skin biopsy can help to diagnose NIID and NOTCH2NL gene detection can diagnose NIID.

Efficacy of Brief Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia （BBT-I） in patients suffering Paradoxical insomnia / 中风与神经疾病杂志

@#To explore the effect of BBT-I on subjective insomnia and its influencing factors. Methods 60 primary insomnia patients were collected in outpatient department，and divided into two groups：Subjective insomnia group （SI group） and non-subjective insomnia group （NSI group） by sleep data collected by standard polysomnography monitoring and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index （PSQI），sleep diaries during the intervention were collected，and the Pre Sleep Arousal Scale（PSAS），Brief Version of Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes About Sleep （DBAS） and the Sleep Hygiene Practice Scale（SHPS） were collected to evaluate the influencing factors related to sleep attitudes，beliefs and behaviors of patients. All patients received BBT-I for 4 weeks，and collected the sleep diaries and PSQI 1 week before and 1 week after treatment. Results Compared with NSI group，SI group had higher arousal index（P<0.05）；compared with NSI group，SI group had lower scores in factor 3 indicated as drug belief and factor 4 representing anticipation of sleep in DBAS，that is，there were more irrational beliefs in SI （P<0.05）.Intragroup comparison showed that there were statistically significant differences insleep latency、sleep efficiency，daytime function and PSQI score in SI group before and after treatment （P<0.05），and there were statistically significant differences in SE difference before and after intervention between SI group and NSI group （P<0.05）.In the subjective insomnia group，daytime functional difference before and after intervention was negatively correlated with the first factor in DBAS（r=0.270，P=0.037）. daytime functional difference before and after intervention was negatively correlated with PSAS（r=0.268，P=0.039）；The difference of sleep latency before and after intervention was negatively correlated with physiological stimulation of PSAS（r =0.288，P=0.042）. Conclusion Compared with nonsubjective patients，subjective insomnia patients have higher arousals and more irrational beliefs and attitudes.BBT-I may improve sleep latency/、sleep efficiency，daytime function and sleep sensation in subjective insomnia patients.

Clinical study of brief behavioral therapy for insomnia （BBT-I） improving symptoms of patients suffering insomnia and primary chronic headache / 中风与神经疾病杂志

@#Objective　To explore the effect of brief behavioral therapy for insomnia （BBT-I） for insomnia patients with primary chronic headache.Methods　From March to September 2020，50 patients with insomnia and primary chronic headache were collected and divided into two groups called BBT-I group and control group，which was matched with age and gender. The control group was given sleep hygiene education，the BBT-I group was given BBT-I for 4 weeks. All the patients have been collected patients’ daily sleep diaries，the severity of insomnia scale （ISI），and the Beck anxiety and depression scale. After 1 month of follow-up，patients were assessed for their insomnia and headache severity，headache attack frequency，and daily quality of life by headache impact test version 6 （HIT-6）.Results　The ISI in the BBT-I group （19.64±5.68）were decreased after BBT-I intervention（12.48±6.50），and the results were statistically significant （P<0.01）. Compared with the control group（20.28±5.59），in the BBT-I group （13.72±3.40）the attack frequency of headache was reduced （P<0.05）. In the BBT-I group，the sleep arousal index was negatively correlated with the defference of headache frequency before and after BBT-I，with the correlation coefficient rs =-0.559，P=0.004.Conclusion　BBT-I can improve the degree of insomnia severity in patients with insomnia and primary headache insomnia，and reduce the chronic pain attack frequency. sleep awakening index might become a new assessment application on whether BBT-i can improve the symptoms of patients with primary headache and insomnia.

Objective sleep assessment in patients with chronic insomnia using cardiopulmonary coupling analysis and its correlation with cognitive function / 中华神经医学杂志

Objective To evaluate the objective sleep status of patients with chronic insomnia by cardiopulmonary coupling (CPC) technique, and evaluate the characteristics of cognitive dysfunction to explore the correlation between objective sleep and cognitive dysfunction in patients with chronic insomnia. Methods Forty-three patients with chronic insomnia, admitted to our hospital from October 2017 to April 2019, were enrolled in our study;15 age-, gender-and education-matched healthy volunteers were recruited as control group. All subjects followed their daily routine at home and completed CPC examination. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Auditory Vocabulary Learning Test (AVLT), Trail Making Test (TMT) and Stroop Color Word Test were used to evaluate the general and single cognitive functions, respectively. The correlation of objective sleep with cognitive function was analyzed. Results (1) As compared with those in the control group, high frequency coupling (stable sleep) ratio was significantly decreased, low frequency coupling (un-stable sleep) ratio and extremely low frequency coupling (rapid-eye-movement sleep/waking) ratio were significantly increased, and latency of high frequency coupling was significantly prolonged in chronic insomnia group (P<0.05). (2) Chronic insomnia group had significantly lower MoCA total scores than control group (P<0.05), specifically manifested as decrement of visuospatial ability and execution and attention abilities; specific cognitive test showed that chronic insomnia group performed worse in immediate recall, and had delayed recall of AVLT, longer time consumption in TMT-B, smaller number of wired arrival numbers, and longer time consumption in Stroop color word test than the control group, with significant differences (P<0.05). (3) There was a correlation between CPC sleep structure and Cognitive Function Scale scores in patients with chronic insomnia. Conclusion In patients with chronic insomnia, stable sleep is reduced, un-stable sleep and rapid-eye-movement sleep/waking are increased; the impaired cognition domains are visual space and executive function, attention and memory; disturbed sleep structure aggravates the memory and execution impairment of patients with chronic insomnia.