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Biomedical subjects

T Pillar

Publications and source records attributed to T Pillar.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Platform training and postural stability in hemiplegia.

Thirteen hemiplegic patients who had a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) in the anterior cerebral circulation were subjected to training on a moving platform. Each session consisted of a 5 min stance on the platform while they moved along an anteroposterior axis, and a 5min stance during transverse movement. Movement amplitude of the platform was adjusted once every three training sessions to the largest that the patients could sustain without using their hands for support. An electromyogram (EMG) was recorded from the tibialis anterior (TA) muscles of each patient during training and at stance on the floor. In addition, the distribution of body weight on the feet was measured in each case before the training program began and at its termination after three weeks (15 training sessions). A matched group of 11 hemiplegic patients served as controls. The maximal movement amplitude that each patient in the control group could sustain was determined twice, once at the beginning of the study and again after three weeks. Ten patients in the experimental group showed more than a two-fold increase in the maximal movement amplitude (MMA) that they could sustain. The patients most impaired initially showed the greatest increase in MMA--five- to seven-fold. In the control group, only one patient had an MMA increase greater than two-fold. A significant improvement in weight distribution on the feet during stance on the floor was found in the experimental patients, but not in the controls. EMG records indicated that improvement in stance did not result from increased TA activation in the hindered leg.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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PubMed1983

Expression of the "split gene" cob in yeast mtDNA. Nuclear mutations specifically block the excision of different introns from its primary transcript.

Five nuclear mutants falling into five different complementation groups are shown to block the maturation of long form mitochondrial cob RNA at five different processing steps. At the same time they prevent complete processing of the oxi 3 RNA, thus exhibiting the same phenotype as mitochondrial box mutants (cyt b- and oxi 3-). The different nuclear factors in question have varying ranges of specificity for the removal of introns from cob RNA, from only one to at the most three introns. Two mutated nuclear elements are shown to be specific for the processing of introns present only in the long form cob gene. One such mutation shows, as expected, no deleterious effect on the processing of the short form cob RNA exchanged into the mutant via cytoduction. The role of nuclear coded factors in the possible translation or activity of introncoded products ("maturases") is discussed for two mutants. Striking parallels are found between diverse polypeptide products, presumably translated from accumulated cob RNA intermediates, in pet- and mit- mutants blocked in the excision of the same intron.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1982

The pneumatic post-amputation mobility aid in geriatric rehabilitation.

Several disadvantages of rigid temporary dressings for geriatric amputees led to the trial of a relatively new kind of pylon--the Pneumatic Post-Amputation Mobility Aid (PPAM). Thirty-five geriatric amputees who were referred to a geriatric rehabilitation hospital participated in the study. Thirty-three of these patients learned to walk with the device easily and safety. The below-knee amputees achieved independent gait with a walker as early as their second treatment. The above-knee and the double below-knee amputees required closer supervision. The inexpensive price of the PPAM, its handiness, the possibility of treating several patients with the same device, and the lack of negative side effects, point to the advantages of this kind of pylon for geriatric patients.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Electromyographic activity of the biceps brachii muscles and elbow flexion during associated reactions in hemiparetic patients.

Activity of the biceps brachii muscles and movements of the elbows were studied during associated reactions in hemiparetic patients and in healthy volunteers. Onset time and increase in electromyographic (EMG) activity during associated reactions and onset of elbow flexion and its maximal magnitude were measured. Testing was performed while standing with a footswitch attached to the sole of the nonparetic foot in patients and to the sole of the right foot in controls. Lifting of that foot generated a trigger signal that served to time the dependent variables. Bilateral EMG activity associated with one foot stance appeared in the two upper extremities in both patients and controls. Elbow flexion occurred in the majority of patients bilaterally, whereas in controls it frequently took place on one side only. There was a significant difference between patients and controls in onset of EMG activity and elbow flexion. This difference indicates an earlier preparatory activity to one foot stance in the upper limbs of patients than in healthy controls. The greatest excursion into flexion was measured in the paretic upper extremity of patients; it significantly exceeded both the flexion angle measured in controls and increase in flexion angle on the nonparetic side. Further understanding of the nature of associated reactions seems to be required for their adequate treatment by physical procedures.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Physical rehabilitation of the elderly blind patient.

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the policy of admitting elderly blind patients with motor impairments for physical rehabilitation. DESIGN: retrospective chart review for comparisons between blind and visually intact patients with similar diagnoses. SETTING: geriatric rehabilitation hospital. PATIENTS: all patients with stroke, fractured hip, and lower limb amputation. EXCLUSIONS: none. ASSESSMENTS: walking ability and functional performance (ADL), using the Barthel Index. RESULTS: overall outcome in blind patients was only slightly less favourable than in the visually intact, although, in comparison with premorbid status, only just over half were ambulatory at discharge and functional independence was less common. CONCLUSIONS: elderly blind patients with motor impairments should be offered a trial by physical rehabilitation.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluating the effects of reflex-inhibiting patterns among hemiplegic patients using EMG biofeedback.

Bobath's hypothesis--that the reflex-inhibiting patterns (RIP)s of a hemiplegic patient's non-exercising limb will prevent an abnormal increase in the muscle tone while the ipsilateral limb is being exercised--is examined in this study with the aid of an EMG biofeedback unit. Recordings were taken of the biceps brachii muscle of 15 patients during performance of lower extremity exercise, and from the medial gastrocnemius muscle of 12 patients during performance of an upper extremity exercise. Each muscle was examined six times in the same session: three of these repetitions being conducted in a RIP, the other three in a neutral position. The highest EMG values recorded in each of the two test situations were compared. The results did not point to a definite relationship between the RIPs and the electrical activity of the test muscles. Bobath's claim that there exists a consistent trend relating RIPs to reduction of muscle tone is therefore placed in doubt. Further research using objective techniques is required as a means of exploring this issue.

Electromyography↗