OnabotulinumtoxinA for the Treatment of Poststroke Distal Lower Limb Spasticity: A Randomized Trial

Background

Poststroke distal lower limb spasticity impairs mobility, limiting activities of daily living and requiring additional caregiver time.

Using a social robot to teach gestural recognition and production in children with autism spectrum disorders

While it has been argued that children with autism spectrum disorders are responsive to robot-like toys, very little research has examined the impact of robot-based intervention on gesture use. These children have delayed gestural development. We used a social robot in two phases to teach them to recognize and produce eight pantomime gestures that expressed feelings and needs. Compared to the children in the wait-list control group (N?=?6), those in the intervention group (N?=?7) were more likely to recognize gestures and to gesture accurately in trained and untrained scenarios. They also generalized the acquired recognition (but not production) skills to human-to-human interaction. The benefits and limitations of robot-based intervention for gestural learning were highlighted.

• Implications for Rehabilitation

• Compared to typically-developing children, children with autism spectrum disorders have delayed development of gesture comprehension and production.

• Robot-based intervention program was developed to teach children with autism spectrum disorders recognition (Phase I) and production (Phase II) of eight pantomime gestures that expressed feelings and needs.

• Children in the intervention group (but not in the wait-list control group) were able to recognize more gestures in both trained and untrained scenarios and generalize the acquired gestural recognition skills to human-to-human interaction.

• Similar findings were reported for gestural production except that there was no strong evidence showing children in the intervention group could produce gestures accurately in human-to-human interaction.

     

Treatment of Partial Thickness Rotator Cuff Tears in Overhead Athletes

Purpose of Review

To review the etiology, classification, presentation, evaluation, treatment strategy, and outcomes in overhead athletes with partial thickness rotator cuff tears.

Recent Findings

Despite advances in surgical repair techniques, return to play following surgical repair of partial rotator cuff tears remains modest at best.

Summary

Overhead athletes may be particularly prone to rotator cuff pathology due to the supraphysiological strains within the tendon during the throwing motion, as well as mechanical stress with contact between the undersurface of the rotator cuff and the glenoid. The true prevalence of partial tears may be underestimated given the high incidence of asymptomatic tears. Both dynamic ultrasound and enhanced contrast MRI have improved our understanding of this pathology. For most overhead athletes, nonoperative management is the most common course. Despite advances in imaging, diagnosis, and surgical techniques, our ability to return these patients to their elite level is modest at best when nonoperative management fails and surgical treatment is performed. If a surgical route is needed, debridement alone is the most frequent procedure given concerns of over constraint and poor return to play with surgical repair of the partial thickness rotator cuff tear.