Search results for "Measure"
showing 10 items of 4687 documents
Left-hemispheric dominance for articulation: a prospective study on acute ischaemic dysarthria at different localizations.
2006
Dysarthria is a frequent symptom in cerebral ischaemia. However, speech characteristics of these patients have not previously been investigated in relation to lesion site in a prospective study. We investigated the auditory perceptual features in 62 consecutive patients with dysarthria due to a single, non-space-occupying cerebral infarction confirmed by MRI. Standardized speech samples of all patients were stored within 72 h after stroke onset using a digital tape recorder. Speech samples were assessed independently by two experienced speech therapists, who were unaware of the clinical and neuroradiological findings, using an interval scale ranging from 0 to 6. Separately assessed were fea…
Information domain analysis of respiratory sinus arrhythmia mechanisms.
2019
Ventilation related heart rate oscillations – respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) – originate in human from several mechanisms. Two most important of them – the central mechanism (direct communication between respiratory and cardiomotor centers), and the peripheral mechanism (ventilation-associated blood pressure changes transferred to heart rate via baroreflex) have been described in previous studies. The major aim of this study was to compare the importance of these mechanisms in the generation of RSA non-invasively during various states by quantifying the strength of the directed interactions between heart rate, systolic blood pressure and respiratory volume signals. Seventy-eight healthy…
The progression of paraspinal muscle recruitment intensity in localized and global strength training exercises is not based on instability alone.
2011
Abstract Colado JC, Pablos C, Chulvi-Medrano I, Garcia-Masso X, Flandez J, Behm DG. The progression of paraspinal muscle recruitment intensity in localized and global strength training exercises is not based on instability alone. Objective To evaluate electromyographic activity of several paraspinal muscles during localized stabilizing exercises and multijoint or global stabilizing exercises. Design Cross-sectional counterbalanced repeated measures. Setting Research laboratory. Participants Volunteers (N=25) without low-back pain. Intervention Subjects performed (1) localized stabilizing exercises (callisthenic exercises with only body weight as resistance): static lumbar extension, stable …
Efficacy of vertical infraclavicular plexus block vs. modified axillary plexus block: a prospective, randomized, observer-blinded study.
2005
Background: Despite containing severe risks, infraclavicular approaches to the brachial plexus gained increasing popularity. Likewise, the vertical infraclavicular plexus block improved anesthesia compared to the standard axillary approach but contains the risk of pneumothorax. Therefore we modified the standard axillary technique by inserting a proximal directed catheter, referred to as a high axillary plexus block. We prospectively compared quality and onset of neural blockade after vertical infraclavicular plexus block (VIP) and high axillary plexus block (HAP) in two randomized groups (30 patients in each). Methods: In group VIP the insulated needle was inserted midway between the ven…
Stress and thermoregulation: different sympathetic responses and different effects on experimental pain.
2009
Stress and thermoregulation both activate the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) but might differently affect pain. Studies investigating possible interactions in patients are problematic because of the high prevalence of SNS disturbances in patients. We therefore analyzed the influence of these different sympathetic challenges on experimentally-induced pain in healthy subjects. SNS was activated in two different ways: by mental stress (Stroop task, mental arithmetic task), and by thermoregulatory stimulation using a water-perfused thermal suit (7 degrees C, 32 degrees C, or 50 degrees C). Attentional effects of the mental stress tasks were controlled by using easy control tasks. Both, stress…
Feasibility of cuff-free measurement of systolic and diastolic arterial blood pressure
2011
We validated a prototype cuff-free device for noninvasive estimation of blood pressure (BP). The system assumed a linear relation between BP values and the inverse of arterial blood pulse transit time, measured as time interval between the R wave on the electrocardiograph and the onset of the peripheral pulse wave on a finger plethysmogram. Thirty-three healthy subjects were analyzed at rest and during increasing stress exercise. To estimate subject-specific linear model parameters, the system was calibrated ad personam with reference to BP measures obtained by a cuff sphygmomanometer. High correlation values (R2= 0.89 and 0.78 for systolic and diastolic BP, respectively) and differences co…
Effects of a workplace physical exercise intervention on the intensity of headache and neck and shoulder symptoms and upper extremity muscular streng…
2004
The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a workplace physical exercise intervention on the perceived intensity of headache and the intensity of symptoms in the neck and shoulders, as well as on the extension and flexion strength of the upper extremities. The study was a cluster randomized controlled trial. The cross-over design consisted of physical exercise intervention (15 weeks) and no-intervention (15 weeks). The subjects (n=53) were office workers (mean age 46.6 (SD 8.4)) who reported headache (n=41) symptoms in the neck (n=37) or shoulders (n=41), which had restricted their daily activities during the last 12 months. Pain symptoms were measured using the Borg CR10 scale …
Thinking about movement hurts: The effect of motor imagery on pain and swelling in people with chronic arm pain
2008
Objective: Chronic painful disease is associated with pain on movement, which is presumed to be caused by noxious stimulation. We investigated whether motor imagery, in the absence of movement, increases symptoms in patients with chronic arm pain. Methods: Thirty‐seven subjects performed a motor imagery task. Pain and swelling were measured before, after, and 60 minutes after the task. Electromyography findings verified no muscle activity. Patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) were compared with those with non‐CRPS pain. Secondary variables from clinical, psychophysical, and cognitive domains were related to change in symptoms using linear regression. Results: Motor imagery in…
Alterations in speech and voice in patients with mucopolysaccharidoses.
2013
The mucopolysaccharidoses are a group of lysosomal disorders characterized by abnormal accumulation of glycosaminoglycans within cell lysosomes leading to a variety of signs and symptoms including alterations in speech and voice production. These changes were analysed in 44 patients with mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) types I, II, and VI using standardized protocols. Compared to healthy individuals the diadochokinetic rate for the fast repetition of syllables was slower and more irregular, the voice-onset time for the voiceless consonant /p/ was shorter, and most patients had a hoarse voice. The fundamental frequency (F0) of sustained spoken vowels was in the normal range for most women and ch…
Three-year European follow-up of endovenous radiofrequency-powered segmental thermal ablation of the great saphenous vein with or without treatment o…
2011
BackgroundRadiofrequency segmental thermal ablation (RSTA) has become a commonly used technology for occlusion of incompetent great saphenous veins (GSVs). Midterm results and data on clinical parameters are still lacking.MethodsA prospective multicenteral trial monitored 295 RSTA-treated GSVs for 36 months. Clinical control visits included flow and reflux analysis by duplex ultrasound imaging and assessment of clinical parameters according to the CEAP classification and Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS).ResultsA total of 256 of 295 treated GSVs (86.4%) were available for 36 months of follow-up. At 36 months, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed the probability of occlusion was 92.6% a…