Purpose: Stroke is the leading cause of disability in adults worldwide, with hemiparesis being the most prevalent consequence. The use of video games and movement sensors could contribute to improving patients’ chances of recovery. We performed a supervised pilot study to validate the safety, feasibility, and acceptability of a new virtual rehabilitation platform in patients with chronic post-stroke upper limb hemiparesis. Methods: The participants (n = 9) participated in 40 rehabilitation sessions, twice a week, for a period of 20 weeks. Their experiences with the platform were documented using a Likert-scale survey. Changes in motor function were evaluated using the Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory (CAHAI) and the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT). Results and conclusions: All participants expressed that they enjoyed the experience and felt comfortable using the platform. Preliminary results showed significant motor recovery ( P = .0039) according to the WMFT scores. Patients with significant impairment showed no improvement in upper limb task-oriented motor function after therapy. The new platform is safe and well-accepted by patients. The improvement in motor function observed in some of the participants should be attributed to the therapy since spontaneous functional recovery is not expected in chronic stroke patients.
—Some properties of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) were studied in the brain of the carp (Carassius auratus), the pigeon (Columbia livia) and the mouse (Mus musculus). The optimum pH for GAD in the three species was 6·3‐6·5. In the three species studied, GAD activity of brain homogenates in water was higher than that of homogenates in buffer. The supernatant from homogenates in Triton‐X‐100 gave an enzyme preparation which showed greater activation by pyridoxal phosphate than those obtained from complete water or buffer homogenates or from the supernatant of Water homogenates.
In the absence of pyridoxal phosphate, the activity of carp GAD was considerably lower than that of mouse or pigeon GAD. The addition of pyridoxal phosphate resulted in a much greater activation of carp GAD than that of pigeon or mouse GAD. Pyridoxal phosphate content was also measured in brains of the species studied. The difference between coenzyme levels in carp and mouse was very small in comparison to the difference in GAD activity in the absence of exogenous coenzyme. The pyridoxal phosphate content of pigeon brain was higher than that of the other two species.
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