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The authors have investigated the oxidative state of glutathione in red blood cells (RBC) and plasma from patients affected by chronic renal failure (CRF) and from age-matched healthy subjects. RBC-reduced glutatione (GSH) levels were significantly lower in CRF patients than in healthy subjects. Oxidized glutathione (GSSG) levels in plasma from CRF patients were higher than in plasma from controls. GSSG levels in RBC were similar in both groups. No differences were noted in GSH plasma levels between patients and controls. The GSSG/GSH ratios in RBC were similar in the two groups; on the contrary, the GSSG/GSH ratio in plasma was significantly higher in CRF patients. High levels of GSSG in plasma could exert two important effects on RBC: (1) inhibition of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, with a consequent alteration of the glutathione system; (2) GSSG easily reacts with hemoglobin to produce hemoglobin-glutathione mixed disulfides, with a consequent protein aggregation and precipitation. In vitro experiments have shown that RBC from CRF patients easily lyse when incubated with their same plasma, but not when incubated in saline buffer. Our results seem to demonstrate that plasma from CRF patients contains various oxidants which could affect the integrity of the glutathione system in RBC. This alteration could play a role in the pathogenesis of anemia in uremic patients.

Action observation therapy (AOT) has been recently proposed as a new rehabilitation approach for treatment of motor deficits in Parkinson’s disease. To date, this approach has never been used to deal with cognitive deficits (e.g., deficits in working memory, attention), which are impairments that are increasingly recognized in Parkinsonian patients. Typically, patients affected by these dysfunctions have difficulty filtering out irrelevant information and tend to lose track of the task goal. In this paper, we propose that AOT may also be used to improve cognitive abilities of Parkinsonian patients if it is used within a dual task framework. We articulate our hypothesis by pivoting on recent findings and on preliminary results that were obtained through a pilot study that was designed to test the efficacy of a long-term rehabilitation program that, for the first time, uses AOT within a dual task framework for treating cognitive deficits in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Ten Parkinson’s disease patients underwent a 45-min treatment that consisted in watching a video of an actor performing a daily-life activity and then executing it while performing distractive tasks (AOT with dual task). The treatment was repeated three times per week for a total of 4 weeks. Patients’ cognitive/motor features were evaluated through standard tests four times: 1 month before treatment, the first and the last day of treatment and 1 month after treatment. The results show that this approach may provide relevant improvements in cognitive aspects related to working memory (verbal and visuospatial memory) and attention. We discuss these results by pivoting on literature on action observation and recent literature demonstrating that the dual task method can be used to stimulate cognition and concentration. In particular, we propose that using AOT together with a dual task may train the brain systems supporting executive functions through two mechanisms: (i) stimulation of goal setting within the mirror neuron system through action observation and (ii) working memory and persistent goal maintenance through dual task stimuli.

Mobilization and manipulation techniques are often used in small animal and equine practice; however, questions remain concerning indications, dosing and efficacy. A bibliographic search was performed to identify peer-reviewed publications from 1980 to 2020 that evaluated the clinical effects of musculoskeletal mobilization and manipulation techniques in dogs, cats and horses. The search strategy identified 883 papers for review. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. The clinical indications, dosages, outcome parameters, and reported efficacy within each publication were recorded and categorized for comparison with scientific quality assessed according to a standardized grading system. Fourteen articles were included in this systematic review of which 13 were equine and one was a canine study. Seven of these were cohort studies and seven were randomized controlled clinical trials. The canine study involved carpal immobilization-remobilization and all equine studies focused on the effects of passive mobilization (n = 5) or manipulation (n = 8) of the axial skeleton. Study quality was low (n = 4), moderate (n = 7), and high (n = 3) and included a wide array of outcome parameters with varying levels of efficacy and duration of therapeutic effects, which prevented further meta-analysis. Therefore, it was difficult to draw firm conclusions despite all studies reporting positive effects. Optimal technique indications and dosages need to be determined to improve the standardization of these treatment options.

This work presents the results of the first experimentation of +me-the first prototype of Transitional Wearable Companion–run on 15 typically developed (TD) children with ages between 8 and 34 months. +me is an interactive device that looks like a teddy bear that can be worn around the neck, has touch sensors, can emit appealing lights and sounds, and has input-output contingencies that can be regulated with a tablet via Bluetooth. The participants were engaged in social play activities involving both the device and an adult experimenter. +me was designed with the objective of exploiting its intrinsic allure as an attractive toy to stimulate social interactions (e.g., eye contact, turn taking, imitation, social smiles), an aspect potentially helpful in the therapy of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). The main purpose of this preliminary study is to evaluate the general acceptability of the toy by TD children, observing the elicited behaviors in preparation for future experiments involving children with ASD and other PDD. First observations, based on video recording and scoring, show that +me stimulates good social engagement in TD children, especially when their age is higher than 24 months.

Esta obra está bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 Unported. Más información: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.es_CO www.renhyd.org Introducción: Debido a que el sobrepeso y la obesidad frecuentemente se acompañan de complicaciones metabólicas, el objetivo del presente estudio es estimar la prevalencia de dislipidemia, sus factores de riesgo (FR) y el grado de concordancia entre los valores de corte de triglicéridos (TG) y HDL-C, según Cook y col. y la Academia Americana de Cardiología en niños y adolescentes con dichas patologías. Material y Métodos: Se estudiaron 139 pacientes con sobrepeso u obesidad, de 8-14 años, que concurrieron a la Sección de Nutrición Pediátrica del Hospital de Clínicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina, desde febrero de 2005 a enero de 2013. Diseño descriptivo, observacional, prospectivo, transversal, de correlación y de comparación a muestras independientes. Se consideró dislipidemia cuando: colesterol total (CT)≥200 mg/dl o HDL-C≤40 mg/dl o TG≥110 mg/dl o LDL-C≥130 mg/dl. Como FR de dislipidemia se evaluó la circunferencia de cintura (CC)≥P90 (percentilo 90) según Freedman y col., bajo peso al nacer (<2,5 kg), antecedentes familiares de dislipidemia e infarto agudo de miocardio (IAM). Se estableció la concordancia entre los valores de corte de TG (≥110 y ≥150 mg/dl) y también entre los niveles de corte de HDL-C (≤40 y <35 mg/dl). Resultados: El 50,4% de los pacientes presentaron dislipidemia. Como fracción lipídica más frecuentemente alterada se encontró TG elevados (31,7%). De los FR evaluados, la CC aumentada (≥ P90) fue el de mayor prevalencia (55,4%). La concordancia entre los valores de corte para TG fue débil (Kappa=0.38), mientras que para HDL-C fue moderada (Kappa=0,52). Conclusiones: uno de cada dos pacientes presentó dislipidemia y el FR más frecuente fue la centralización de la grasa. La prevalencia de hipertrigliceridemia y HDL-C disminuido depende del criterio diagnóstico utilizado. responsables de ocasionar cambios en el perfil lipoproteico como la elevación de los niveles de LDL-C pequeña y densa, descenso de HDL-C y aumento de TG [10][11][12][13] . Esta relación pudo ser observada en población pediátrica por Freedman y col. 14 , que fueron unos de los primeros en describir la asociación que había entre el aumento de la grasa abdomino-visceral y las alteraciones en el nivel lipoproteico y de insulina. Estos autores hallaron, en pacientes que tenían circunferencia de la cintura (CC) en percentilo 90, valores superiores de LDL-C, TG, insulina y menor de HDL-C, de manera significativa en comparación con aquellos que la tenían en percentilo 10 14 . Otros investigadores posteriormente, observaron igual asociación entre la CC elevada y el aumento de TG y descenso de HDL-C, no así con el CT elevado y LDL-C aumentada 15,16 . También se ha planteado que el bajo peso al nacer podría ser un factor de riesgo a tener en cuenta, ya que para algunos investigadores, los pacientes con este antecedente, tendrían afectado el crecimiento ...

Land-based physiotherapy has been the treatment most commonly used where feline patients are referred for rehabilitation, but increasingly positive results are being seen in cats referred for hydrotherapy and in cases treated with acupuncture as part of a multidisciplinary team approach. Hydrotherapy includes the use of water treadmills and pools and can be used in a variety of rehabilitation cases including postoperative fractures, muscle wastage and some neurological conditions. Acupuncture is also well tolerated and is useful in some musculoskeletal and neurological problems.

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