The rehabilitation of paretic stroke patients uses a wide range of intervention programs to improve the function of impaired upper limb. A new rehabilitative approach, called action observation ...therapy (AOT) is based on the discovery of mirror neurons and has been used to improve the motor functions of adult stroke patients and children with cerebral palsy. Recently, virtual reality (VR) has provided the potential to increase the frequency and effectiveness of rehabilitation treatment by offering challenging and motivating tasks. METHODS: The purpose of the present project is to design a randomized controlled six-month follow-up trial (RCT) to evaluate whether action observation (AO) added to standard VR (AO + VR) is effective in improving upper limb function in patients with stroke, compared with a control treatment consisting of observation of naturalistic scenes (CO) without any action content, followed by VR training (CO + VR).
AO + VR treatment may provide an addition to the rehabilitative interventions currently available for recovery after stroke and could be utilized within standard sensorimotor training or in individualized tele-rehabilitation.
The trial has been prospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT05163210 . 17 December 2021.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
To evaluate the impact of faecal immunochemical test (FIT) screening on stage distribution at diagnosis, and to estimate relative incidence rates by stage in screened at first and subsequent rounds ...vs. unscreened. We included all incident cases occurring in 2000–2008 in 50‐ to 71‐year‐olds residing in areas with an FIT‐screening programme. Multinomial logistic models were computed to estimate the relative risk ratio (RRR) of stages I and IV, compared to stage II + III, adjusting for age, sex, geographical area, and incidence year. Proportions were then used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRR) by stage for screened subjects at the first and at subsequent rounds vs. unscreened subjects, applying the expected changes in overall incidence during screening phases. 11,663 cancers were included: 5965 in not‐invited and 5,698 in invited subjects, 3,425 of whom attendees. Compared to not‐invited, invited subjects had RRR 2.04 (95% CI: 1.84; 2.46) of stage I and RRR 0.77 (95% CI: 0.69; 0.87) of stage IV. Differences were stronger comparing attendees vs. nonattendees. Interval cancers were more frequently stage I compared to non‐invited (RRR 1.54; 95% CI: 1.15; 2.04), but there was no difference for stage IV. IRRs in screened at first round vs. unscreened were 4.6 (95% CI: 4.2; 5.1), 1.4 (95% CI: 1.3; 1.5) and 0.7 (95% CI: 0.6; 0.9) for stages I, II + III and IV, respectively; in the following rounds the IRRs of screened vs. unscreened were 1.4 (95% CI: 1.2; 1.6), 0.8 (95% CI: 0.7; 0.9) and 0.3 (95% CI: 0.1; 0.4) for stages I, II + III and IV, respectively. FIT screening reduces the incidence of metastatic cancers by about 70% after the first round.
What's new?
Screening programs are intended to reduce mortality by early diagnosis. In this study, the authors evaluated the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) for colorectal cancer. They calculated the effect of FIT screening on stage at diagnosis, and estimated the relative incidence rates by stage. Individuals who attended screening had far higher incidence of stage I cancer, and lower incidence of stage IV, than those not screened. Metastatic cancer incidence, they found, decreased by about 70% at the first round of screening.
Abstract Objective To quantify the impact of organized cervical screening programs (OCSPs) on the incidence of invasive cervical cancer (ICC), comparing rates before and after activation of OCSPs. ...Methods This population-based investigation, using individual data from cancer registries and OCSPs, included 3557 women diagnosed with ICC at age 25–74 years in 1995–2008. The year of full-activation of each OCSP was defined as the year when at least 40% of target women had been invited. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated as the ratios between age-standardized incidence rates observed in periods after full-activation of OCSPs vs those observed in the preceding quinquennium. Results ICC incidence rates diminished with time since OCSPs full-activation: after 6–8 years, the IRR was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.67–0.85). The reduction was higher for stages IB–IV (IRR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.58–0.80), squamous cell ICCs (IRR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.64–0.84), and particularly evident among women aged 45–74 years. Conversely, incidence rates of micro-invasive (stage IA) ICCs increased, though not significantly, among women aged 25–44 years (IRR = 1.34, 95% CI: 0.91–1.96). Following full-activation of OCSPs, micro-invasive ICCs were mainly and increasingly diagnosed within OCSPs (up to 72%). Conclusion(s) Within few years from activation, organized screening positively impacted the already low ICC incidence in Italy and favored down-staging.
to evaluate the relationship between air pollution and hospital admissions in 25 Italian cities that took part in the EpiAir (Epidemiological surveillance of air pollution effects among Italian ...cities) project.
study of time series with case-crossover methodology, with adjustment for meteorological and time-dependent variables. The association air pollution hospitalisation was analyzed in each of the 25 cities involved in the study; the overall estimates of effect were obtained subsequently by means of a meta-analysis. The pollutants considered were PM10, PM2.5 (in 13 cities only), NO2 and ozone (O3); this last pollutant restricted to the summer season (April-September).
the study has analyzed 2,246,448 urgent hospital admissions for non-accidental diseases in 25 Italian cities during the period 2006- 2010; 10 out of 25 cities took part also in the first phase of the project (2001-2005).
urgent hospital admissions for cardiac, cerebrovascular and respiratory diseases, for all age groups, were considered. The respiratory hospital admissions were analysed also for the 0-14-year subgroup. Percentage increases risk of hospitalization associated with increments of 10 µg/m(3) and interquartile range (IQR) of the concentration of each pollutant were calculated.
reported results were related to an increment of 10 µg/m(3) of air pollutant. The percent increase for PM10 for cardiac causes was 0.34% at lag 0 (95%CI 0.04-0.63), for respiratory causes 0.75% at lag 0-5 (95%CI 0.25-1.25). For PM2.5, the percent increase for respiratory causes was 1.23% at lag 0- 5 (95%CI 0.58-1.88). For NO2, the percent increase for cardiac causes was 0.57% at lag 0 (95%CI 0.13-1.02); 1.29% at lag 0-5 (95%CI 0.52-2.06) for respiratory causes. Ozone (O3) did not turned out to be positively associated neither with cardiac nor with respiratory causes as noted in the previous period (2001-2005).
the results of the study confirm an association between PM10, PM2.5, and NO2 on hospital admissions among 25 Italian cities. No positive associations for ozone was noted in this period.
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