Analise comparativa das caracteristicas cinematicas da coluna durante a marcha e a corrida

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Metodo de reconstrução tridimensional para avaliação postural

Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Faculdade de Educação Física

Matrix Metalloproteinases And Left Ventricular Function And Structure In Spinal Cord Injured Subjects.

Subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI) exhibit impaired left ventricular (LV) diastolic function, which has been reported to be attenuated by regular physical activity. This study investigated the relationship between circulating matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs) and echocardiographic parameters in SCI subjects and the role of physical activity in this regard. Forty-two men with SCI [19 sedentary (S-SCI) and 23 physically-active (PA-SCI)] were evaluated by clinical, anthropometric, laboratory, and echocardiographic analysis. Plasmatic pro-MMP-2, MMP-2, MMP-8, pro-MMP-9, MMP-9, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and zymography. PA-SCI subjects presented lower pro-MMP-2 and pro-MMP-2/TIMP-2 levels and improved markers of LV diastolic function (lower E/Em and higher Em and E/A values) than S-SCI ones. Bivariate analysis showed that pro-MMP-2 correlated inversely with Em and directly with E/Em, while MMP-9 correlated directly with LV mass index and LV end-diastolic diameter in the whole sample. Following multiple regression analysis, pro-MMP-2, but not physical activity, remained associated with Em, while MMP-9 was associated with LV mass index in the whole sample. These findings suggest differing roles for MMPs in LV structure and function regulation and an interaction among pro-MMP-2, diastolic function and physical activity in SCI subjects.

Spinal Cord Atrophy Correlates With Disease Duration And Severity In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Our objective was to investigate spinal cord (SC) atrophy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, and to determine whether it correlates with clinical parameters. Forty-three patients with ALS (25 males) and 43 age- and gender-matched healthy controls underwent MRI on a 3T scanner. We used T1-weighted 3D images covering the whole brain and the cervical SC to estimate cervical SC area and eccentricity at C2/C3 level using validated software (SpineSeg). Disease severity was quantified with the ALSFRS-R and ALS Severity scores. SC areas of patients and controls were compared with a Mann-Whitney test. We used linear regression to investigate association between SC area and clinical parameters. Results showed that mean age of patients and disease duration were 53.1 ± 12.2 years and 34.0 ± 29.8 months, respectively. The two groups were significantly different regarding SC areas (67.8 ± 6.8 mm² vs. 59.5 ± 8.4 mm², p < 0.001). Eccentricity values were similar in both groups (p = 0.394). SC areas correlated with disease duration (r = - 0.585, p < 0.001), ALSFRS-R score (r = 0.309, p = 0.044) and ALS Severity scale (r = 0.347, p = 0.022). In conclusion, patients with ALS have SC atrophy, but no flattening. In addition, SC areas correlated with disease duration and functional status. These data suggest that quantitative MRI of the SC may be a useful biomarker in the disease.

Long-term Spinal Ventral Root Reimplantation, But Not Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cell Treatment, Positively Influences Ultrastructural Synapse Recovery And Motor Axonal Regrowth.

We recently proposed a new surgical approach to treat ventral root avulsion, resulting in motoneuron protection. The present work combined such a surgical approach with bone marrow mononuclear cells (MC) therapy. Therefore, MC were added to the site of reimplantation. Female Lewis rats (seven weeks old) were subjected to unilateral ventral root avulsion (VRA) at L4, L5 and L6 levels and divided into the following groups (n = 5 for each group): Avulsion, sealant reimplanted roots and sealant reimplanted roots plus MC. After four weeks and 12 weeks post-surgery, the lumbar intumescences were processed by transmission electron microscopy, to analyze synaptic inputs to the repaired α motoneurons. Also, the ipsi and contralateral sciatic nerves were processed for axon counting and morphometry. The ultrastructural results indicated a significant preservation of inhibitory pre-synaptic boutons in the groups repaired with sealant alone and associated with MC therapy. Moreover, the average number of axons was higher in treated groups when compared to avulsion only. Complementary to the fiber counting, the morphometric analysis of axonal diameter and g ratio demonstrated that root reimplantation improved the motor component recovery. In conclusion, the data herein demonstrate that root reimplantation at the lesion site may be considered a therapeutic approach, following proximal lesions in the interface of central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS), and that MC therapy does not further improve the regenerative recovery, up to 12 weeks post lesion.

Association Of Lipophilic Opioids And Hyperbaric Bupivacaine In Spinal Anesthesia For Elective Cesarean Section. Randomized Controlled Study.

To evaluate the efficacy and side-effects of fentanyl and sufentanil combined with hyperbaric spinal bupivacaine in elective cesarean section. A prospective, randomized, double-blind study with 64 term parturients, distributed into 2 groups according to the opioid combined with hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5% (10mg): GF - fentanyl (25 µg) and GS - sufentanil (5.0 µg). The latency and maximum sensory block level; degree and duration of motor block; duration and quality of analgesia; maternal-fetal repercussions were evaluated. This was an intention-to-treat analysis with a 5% significance level. The latency period, maximum sensory block level, motor block degree and perioperative analgesia were similar in both groups. Motor block and analgesia had a longer duration in the sufentanil group. Maternal adverse effects and neonatal repercussions were similar. The incidence of hypotension was higher in the fentanyl group. In both groups, there was a predominance of patients who were awake and either calm or sleepy. The addition of fentanyl and sufentanil to hyperbaric subarachnoid bupivacaine was shown to be effective for the performance of cesarean section, and safe for the mother and fetus. Analgesia was more prolonged with sufentanil.

Eccentric Exercise Leads To Glial Activation But Not Apoptosis In Mice Spinal Cords.

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of 3 overtraining (OT) protocols on the glial activation and apoptosis in the spinal cords of mice. Rodents were divided into control (C; sedentary mice), overtrained by downhill running (OTR/down), overtrained by uphill running (OTR/up) and overtrained by running without inclination (OTR). The incremental load test, ambulation test, exhaustive test and functional behavioural assessment were used as performance evaluation parameters. 36 h after the exhaustive test, the dorsal and ventral parts of the lumbar spinal cord (L4-L6) were dissected for subsequent protein analysis by immunoblotting. The OT protocols led to similar responses of some performance parameters. The ventral glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) protein levels were diminished in the OTR/up and OTR compared to CT and OTR/down groups. The ventral ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba-1), and the dorsal GFAP and Iba-1 protein levels were increased in the OTR/down compared to the other groups. The ratio between the cleaved capase-3/caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9/caspase-9 measured in the spinal cord were not sensitive to the OT protocols. In summary, the OTR/down activated the glial cells in the motor (i. e. Iba-1) and sensory (i. e. GFAP and Iba-1) neurons without leading to apoptosis.

Artificial Gait In Complete Spinal Cord Injured Subjects: How To Assess Clinical Performance.

Objective Adapt the 6 minutes walking test (6MWT) to artificial gait in complete spinal cord injured (SCI) patients aided by neuromuscular electrical stimulation. Method Nine male individuals with paraplegia (AIS A) participated in this study. Lesion levels varied between T4 and T12 and time post injured from 4 to 13 years. Patients performed 6MWT 1 and 6MWT 2. They used neuromuscular electrical stimulation, and were aided by a walker. The differences between two 6MWT were assessed by using a paired t test. Multiple r-squared was also calculated. Results The 6MWT 1 and 6MWT 2 were not statistically different for heart rate, distance, mean speed and blood pressure. Multiple r-squared (r2 = 0.96) explained 96% of the variation in the distance walked. Conclusion The use of 6MWT in artificial gait towards assessing exercise walking capacity is reproducible and easy to apply. It can be used to assess SCI artificial gait clinical performance.

Spinal Cord Damage In Machado-joseph Disease.

Machado-Joseph disease (SCA3) is the most frequent spinocerebellar ataxia worldwide and characterized by remarkable phenotypic heterogeneity. MRI-based studies in SCA3 focused in the cerebellum and connections, but little is known about cord damage in the disease and its clinical relevance. To evaluate the spinal cord damage in SCA3 through quantitative analysis of MRI scans. A group of 48 patients with SCA3 and 48 age and gender-matched healthy controls underwent MRI on a 3T scanner. We used T1-weighted 3D images to estimate the cervical spinal cord area (CA) and eccentricity (CE) at three C2/C3 levels based on a semi-automatic image segmentation protocol. The scale for assessment and rating of ataxia (SARA) was employed to quantify disease severity. The two groups-SCA3 and controls-were significantly different regarding CA (49.5 ± 7.3 vs 67.2 ± 6.3 mm(2), p < 0.001) and CE values (0.79 ± 0.06 vs 0.75 ± 0.05, p = 0.005). In addition, CA presented a significant correlation with SARA scores in the patient group (p = 0.010). CE was not associated with SARA scores (p = 0.857). In the multiple variable regression, we found that disease duration was the only variable associated with CA (coefficient = -0.629, p = 0.025). SCA3 is characterized by cervical cord atrophy and antero-posterior flattening. In addition, the spinal cord areas did correlate with disease severity. This suggests that quantitative analyses of the spinal cord MRI might be a useful biomarker in SCA3.

Surgical treatment of patients with cervical spinal cord injury by anterior approach using bone graft

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Sistema de análise de movimento para avaliação da postura vertical durante a corrida no teste de esforço máximo incremental

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física