Body representation after a stroke in the brainstem.

BACKGROUND: Lesion occurring in the brainstem may cause a postural tilt and balance disorders, which could be due to an inaccurate perception of the body orientation. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of a brainstem stroke on body representation in horizontal and frontal plane, and links with impaired posture and neuroanatomy. METHODS: Forty patients with stroke in left brainstem (L-BS) or right (R-BS) were compared with 15 matched control subjects (C). The subjective straight-ahead (SSA) was investigated using a method disentangling lateral deviation and tilt components of error. RESULTS: The L-BS patients had contralesional lateral deviation of SSA. In addition, they showed an ipsilesional tilt, more severe for the trunk than for the head. By contrast, in R-BS patients, the representation of the body midline was fairly accurate in both the horizontal and frontal planes and did not differ from that of control subjects. CONCLUSION: This work highlights an asymmetry of representation of body associated with left brainstem lesions extending to the right cerebral hemisphere. This deviation appears only after a left lesion, which may point to a vestibular dominance. These results open a new perspective of neuro-rehabilitation of postural disorders after a stroke, with the correction of the representation of body orientation.

Effect of a lifestyle intervention to prevent weight gain at initiation of insulin pump therapy in type 2 diabetes: A randomized, controlled, multicentre trial.

Insulin pump therapy improves glycaemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes. However, it may be associated with weight gain. AIM: To test the effectiveness of a six-month dietary and physical activity intervention, compared to usual care, on weight gain prevention after initiation of insulin pump. METHODS: Multicentre randomized, controlled trial of 54 individuals. Primary endpoint was between group difference in weight gain at six-months. RESULTS: Weight gain after 6 months of insulin pump treatment did not differ between groups: mean 3.2 (3.9) kg in the control group and 3.9 (3.8) kg in the intervention group, (p = 0.56). HbA1c improved without difference between groups. Post-hoc multivariate analysis of all participants found that weight gain was independently associated with younger age, active smoking, and the magnitude of HbA1c reduction. A 1 % decrease in HbA1c was associated with an increase of 0.94 kg [95 % Confidence Interval 0.47; 1.41], p < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment intensification by insulin pump therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes is effective to improve glycaemic control. A gain of about 1 kg per 1 % drop in HbA1c can be expected after insulin treatment intensification. This weight gain was not prevented by a home-base, individualized, 6-months lifestyle intervention program.