Assessment of gait deviation on the Babinski-Weill test in healthy Brazilians

Validity and Reliability of a Tool for Accelerometric Assessment of Balance in Scholar Children

In Pediatrics, balance is assessed through low-sensitivity clinical tests which identify developmental alterations at already advanced stages that cannot be detected at earlier stages. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop an easily applicable quantitative tool that can be used to evaluate postural control. Consequently, a cross-sectional study was carried out with 91 healthy children. All of them performed a series of six accelerometric functional tests and four clinical tests of balance (Modified Flamingo Test, Bar Test, Babinski-Weil Test, and Fukuda Stepping Test). The Bar Test obtained mild inverse correlations with accelerations produced in the mediolateral axis and the root mean square of all the tests in monopodal support. The Flamingo Test obtained direct correlations with the root mean square of the tests in monopodal support and with the mediolateral axis of the monopodal tests and gait. The pediatric balance assessment scale consists of three factors and eleven items extracted from five accelerometric functional tests: the monopodal balance test with six items, normal gait test with three items, and bipodal balance test with two items. This tool is easy to apply and allows analysis in the evaluation of the balance state based on the accelerations of the center of mass.

Recovery from Bell Palsy after Transplantation of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and Platelet-Rich Plasma

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are multipotent, and plasma contains growth factors involving tissue regeneration. We hypothesized that transplantation of PBMC-plasma will promote the recovery of paralyzed facial muscles in Bell palsy. This case report describes the effects of PBMC-plasma transplantations in a 27-year-old female patient with right side Bell palsy. On the affected side of the face, the treatment resulted in both morphological and functional recovery including voluntary facial movements. These findings suggest that PBMC-plasma has the capacity of facial muscle regeneration and provides a promising treatment strategy for patients suffering from Bell palsy or other neuromuscular disorders.

Age-related differences in Fukuda stepping and Babinski-Weil tests, within-day variability and test-retest reliability

BACKGROUND

The Fukuda stepping and Babinski-Weil tests are associated with unperceived body rotation and linear displacements in young adults, but performance in older adults on these two tests has yet to be determined.

AIM

The main purpose was to compare the performance and reliability of the Fukuda stepping and Babinski-Weil tests in young and older adults.

METHODS

Fifty older and 50 young adults executed three trials of each test on day 1 (test) and day 2 (retest). Lateral and longitudinal displacements and body rotation relative to the starting position were measured. Means and standard deviations (SD) were compared between the two groups with Mann-Whitney tests. Test-retest reliability was assessed with intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). Foot preference was determined from the score on the Waterloo Footedness Questionnaire and correlated with test scores.

RESULTS

Lateral and longitudinal displacements were significantly larger in older than young participants on the Fukuda stepping test (p < .01) and significantly smaller on the Babinski-Weil test (p < .001). Older participants displayed a significantly smaller SD on the three Babinski-Weil test trials (p < .001). Displacement and rotation measures ICC ranged between 0.25 and 0.77 in older and between 0.58 and 0.80 in young participants. Foot preference correlated with rotation on the Fukuda stepping test in young (p < .05), but not in older participants (p > .05).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Linear displacements, but not body rotation, were different between older and young adults. There was no clear age-related differences in test-retest reliability, but the moderate reliability indicates that performance can vary from day to day in both age groups.

Assessment of gait direction changes during straight-ahead walking in healthy elderly and Huntington disease patients using a shank worn MIMU

The aim of this study was to propose and comparatively evaluate four methods for assessing stride-by-stride changes of direction of progression, during straight walking using measurements of a magnetic and inertial unit placed above the malleolus. The four methods were evaluated by comparing their estimate of the gait changes of direction of progression with that obtained from an instrumented gait mat used as a gold standard. The methods were applied to the data obtained from the gait of both healthy subjects and patients with Huntington Disease, the latter characterized by a jerky swing phase. The results showed that the errors associated to the best estimates of the gait direction changes were about 10% of its range of variability for the healthy subjects and increased to about 30% for the patients, both walking at comfortable speed when the range of variability is the largest. Additional testing on gait at various radius of curvature should be carried out to fully validate the MIMU-based estimates.