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BackgroundThe use of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) has been proven useful in the management of gait disturbances associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Typically, the RAS consists of metronome or music-based sounds (artificial RAS), while ecological footstep sounds (ecological RAS) have never been used for rehabilitation programs.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to compare the effects of a rehabilitation program integrated either with ecological or with artificial RAS.MethodsAn observer-blind, randomized controlled trial was conducted to investigate the effects of 5 weeks of supervised rehabilitation integrated with RAS. Thirty-eight individuals affected by PD were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions (ecological vs. artificial RAS); thirty-two of them (age 68.2 ± 10.5, Hoehn and Yahr 1.5–3) concluded all phases of the study. Spatio-temporal parameters of gait and clinical variables were assessed before the rehabilitation period, at its end, and after a 3-month follow-up.ResultsThirty-two participants were analyzed. The results revealed that both groups improved in the majority of biomechanical and clinical measures, independently of the type of sound. Moreover, exploratory analyses for separate groups were conducted, revealing improvements on spatio-temporal parameters only in the ecological RAS group.ConclusionOverall, our results suggest that ecological RAS is equally effective compared to artificial RAS. Future studies should further investigate the role of ecological RAS, on the basis of information revealed by our exploratory analyses. Theoretical, methodological, and practical issues concerning the implementation of ecological sounds in the rehabilitation of PD patients are discussed.Clinical Trial Registration, identifier NCT03228888.

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Context: Although balance is generally recognized to be an important feature in ensuring good performance in soccer, its link with functional performance remains mostly unexplored, especially in young athletes.Objective: To investigate changes in balance induced by fatigue for unipedal and bipedal static stances in young soccer players.Design: Crossover study. Setting: Biomechanics laboratory and outdoor soccer field.Patients or Other Participants: Twenty-one male soccer players (age ¼ 14.5 6 0.2 years, height ¼ 164.5 6 5.6 cm, mass ¼ 56.8 6 6.8 kg).Intervention(s): Static balance was assessed with posturalsway analysis in unipedal and bipedal upright stance before and after a fatigue protocol consisting of a repeated sprint ability (RSA) test (2 3 15-m shuttle sprint interspersed with 20 seconds of passive recovery, repeated 6 times).Main Outcome Measure(s): On the basis of the center-ofpressure (COP) time series acquired during the experimental tests, we measured sway area, COP path length, and COP maximum displacement and velocity in the anteroposterior and mediolateral directions. Results:Fatigue increased all sway values in bipedal stance and all values except COP velocity in the mediolateral direction in unipedal stance. Fatigue index (calculated on the basis of RSA performance) was positively correlated with fatigue/rest sway ratio for COP path length and COP velocity in the anteroposterior and mediolateral directions for nondominant single-legged stance.Conclusions: Fatigued players exhibited reduced performance of the postural-control system. Participants with better performance in the RSA test appeared less affected by balance impairment, especially in single-legged stance.Key Words: postural sway, repeated sprint ability test, athletes Key PointsIn young soccer players, balance was adversely affected by fatigue. A moderate correlation existed between balance impairment and repeated sprint ability performance.

Between 1986 and 1995, 4104 children were observed in the Clinic of Dermatology in Cagliari, Italy. Three hundred and thirty-six children (8.2%), 188 boys and 148 girls, aged 1 month to 13 years, were affected by tinea capitis. Microsporum canis was detected in 278 cases (82.7%) and Trichophyton mentagrophytes in 58 cases (17.3%). Systemic treatment with 20-25 mg kg-1 day-1 griseofulvin led to complete recovery in 30-40 days. None of the patients relapsed. The epidemiology of the infection was analysed according to age, sex and seasonal progression. Microsporum canis was the preponderant aetiological agent of tinea capitis in children in the district of Cagliari, Italy.