The prevalence of CBS in the older-aged, low-vision population is 17.5%. Several demographic and syndrome-specific characteristics were found to be consistent enabling a profile of a CBS sufferer in this group of participants to be compiled.

BackgroundIndividuals living with Parkinson’s disease (PD) can experience a range of movement disorders that affect mobility and balance and increase the risk of falls. Low health-related quality of life, depression, and anxiety are more common in people with PD than age-matched comparisons. Therapeutic dance is a form of physical activity believed to facilitate movement and therapy uptake. As well as being enjoyable, dancing is thought to improve mobility, balance, and well-being in some people living with PD. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of a 4-week Argentine tango dance program for people with PD.MethodsSix community dwelling individuals with mild to moderate PD were recruited from Parkinson’s support groups, movement disorder clinics, and the PD association in Australia. To minimize falls risk, participants were required to be <75 years of age and physically independent (Hoehn and Yahr stages I–III). They were also required to speak English. Participants attended a 1-hour dance class at a dance studio twice per week for 4 weeks. A professional dance instructor led and choreographed the Argentine tango dance classes. Physiotherapists were present to assist participants during the class and served as dance partners as necessary. The primary outcome was feasibility, which was determined by measures of recruitment, adherence, attrition, safety (falls, near misses and adverse events), and resource requirements. Secondary measures included the Beck Depression Inventory and the Euroqol-5D, administered at baseline and post intervention. Therapy outcomes pre- and post-intervention were analyzed descriptively as medians and interquartile ranges and using Wilcoxon matched pair signed-rank tests.ResultsThe Argentine tango dance intervention was shown to be safe, with no adverse events. Adherence to the dance program was 89%. Depression scores improved after intervention (p = 0.04). Some challenges were associated with the need to quickly recruit participants and physiotherapists to act as dance partners during classes and to monitor participants.ConclusionThe 4-week, twice weekly Argentine tango dancing program was shown to be feasible and safe for people with mild-to-moderately severe PD.

It has been shown that loss of macular vision has an impact upon a person's ability to read normal-size print and perform daily living tasks. The aim of this study was to report the results of a random control trial of eccentric viewing and magnification interventions on the performance of activities of daily living, including a clinical evaluation of client perceptions. A random control design was used to compare the impact of three interventions (eccentric viewing, magnification, and combined intervention) upon near print size and the performance of daily living tasks. Data were analysed using one-way analysis of variance. Results of the random control study in relation to the dependent variables of near print size and performance of activities of daily living demonstrated that intervention significantly improved performance. Eccentric viewing intervention demonstrated greater improvement in dynamic activities such as shopping, whilst magnification intervention demonstrated the greatest improvement in high-acuity activities such as coin identification. Both types of intervention generally improve the performance of activities of daily living; however, each is suited to different types of activity. Participants who had not received intervention showed no improvement in near print size or performance of activities of daily living. Participants who had received training in eccentric viewing perceived that the technique had assisted performance of daily living tasks.

Macular degeneration has a severe impact on a person's ability to perform activities of daily living. This study investigated the impact of in-home training in eccentric viewing on near acuity and performance of activities of daily living. The results suggest that eccentric viewing can ameliorate the impact of the loss of vision that is due to macular degeneration.

No abstract