The purpose of this study was to understand the physical, attitudinal, and assistive characteristics of the home and the therapeutic settings that enable and/or hinder hand use by children with spastic hemiparesis CP. A qualitative study with 7 children with CP, their caregivers, and therapists was conducted. Children were observed at home and in their therapeutic settings to understand the sup...

Several authors have reported functional and therapeutic benefits after the application of electrical stimulation to children with neurological disorders (1-3). A functional movement can be induced by electrical neuromuscular stimulation of the paralysed muscles with intact excitability of their peripheral innervation. A long-term use of electrical neuromuscular stimulation can strengthen the w...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Studies in subjects with spastic hypertonia indicate that the higher resistance to stretch in the spastic muscles is not only due to hyperactive stretch reflexes but also to changes in the muscle-tendon unit (nonreflex components). The aim of this study was to compare the test-retest reliability of two methods: hand-held dynamometry and isokinetic dynamometry for the eval...

Using clinical factors, the probabilities of survival with and without major handicap were separately calculated by multiple logistic regression for 988 children who weighed 2000 g or less at birth and who were born in the period 1976-1980. For survivors weighing 501-1250 g in whom incidence of serious handicap was 21%, neonatal fits and the need for mechanical ventilation carried significantly...

PURPOSE Although the nursing facility transition literature is growing, little research has analyzed the characteristics of individuals so assisted or compared participants to those who remain institutionalized. This article describes an analytic method that researchers can apply to address these knowledge gaps, using the Arkansas Passages nursing facility transition program as a case study. ...

OBJECTIVES Determine whether a rehabilitation program targeting functional motor recovery of persons with poststroke hemiparesis improved motor coordination. METHODS A subgroup of 20 persons with poststroke hemiparesis (n = 11 in intervention and n =9 in control group) was investigated from within a larger randomized controlled single-blind clinical trial of 100 patients. Motor coordination w...

BACKGROUND The recurrent Heubner's artery is the distal part of the medial striate artery. Occlusion of the recurrent artery of Heubner, classically contralateral hemiparesis with fasciobrachiocrural predominance, is attributed to the occlusion of the recurrent artery of Heubner and is widely known as a stroke syndrome in adults. However, isolated occlusion of the deep perforating arteries foll...

We describe a case of infective endocarditis due to Moraxella lacunata involving the native mitral and aortic valves, complicated by cerebral emboli and resultant hemiparesis. The patient was treated with ceftriaxone and gentamicin and improved. This appears to be the first case reported in the medical literature of native multivalvular endocarditis produced by this rare organism.

Ipsilateral hemiparesis after a supratentorial stroke is rare. However, the role of the reorganization of the unaffected hemisphere in recovery after a stroke is poorly understood. Two patients developed ipsilateral hemiparesis after a left corona radiata infarct. Both of these patients had previously experienced contralateral hemiparesis after a right-sided supratentorial stroke. Functional ma...

OBJECTIVE A potent heteronymous group II excitation of quadriceps motor neurons has been recently demonstrated in normal subjects. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether this heteronymous group II excitation also contributes to spasticity in hemiplegic patients. METHOD The early and late facilitations of the quadriceps H reflex elicited by a conditioning volley to the common ...