Dysphagia is frequent among patients with critical illness polyneuropathy treated in the ICU. Old age, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the mode of mechanical ventilation, the prevalence of tracheal tubes, and behavioral "learned nonuse" may all be contributing factors for the development of dysphagia in critical illness polyneuropathy. Complete recovery occurs in a high percentage of affected individuals within 4 weeks.

Objectives We investigated the effectiveness of cycle ergometer training and resistance training to enhance the efficiency of standard care to improve walking ability, muscular strength of the lower limbs, cardiovascular endurance and health‐related quality of life during inpatient rehabilitation in intensive care unit acquired weakness. Materials & methods Thirty‐nine patients with severe to moderate walking disability were enrolled in one of the three experimental groups: (a) ergometer training group, (b) resistance training group and (c) control group (standard care only). Intervention was applied 5 days a week over a 4‐week period during inpatient neurological rehabilitation. We evaluated walking ability (Functional Ambulation Category test, timed up and go test, 10‐metre walk test and 6‐minute walk test), muscle strength (Medical Research Council and maximum muscle strength tests), cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance of the lower limbs at the fatigue threshold (physical working capacity at fatigue threshold) and quality of life (medical outcomes study SF‐36 form). All tests were performed at baseline, after two weeks of treatment and at the end of the 4‐week intervention period. Results Ergometer training and resistance training enhanced the effectiveness of standard care in order to improve (a) lower limb muscle strength, (b) walking ability and (c) cardiorespiratory fitness during inpatient rehabilitation of intensive care acquired weakness. In addition, ergometer training may be superior to resistance training. Conclusions Our data encourage more research to develop and implement these training tools in rehabilitation programmes for intensive care acquired weakness.

Cardiac involvement is a frequent finding in patients with mitochondrial myopathy. A potentially characteristic pattern of diffuse intramural LGE in the LV inferolateral segments was identified in patients suffering from the subforms CPEO or KSS.

Polyradiculopathy and/or myelopathy as verified by electrophysiological examination within 4 weeks from symptom onset were indicative of a more severe disease course and a greater likelihood of moderate to serious sequelae even after long-term rehabilitation. Older age at symptom onset seems to be associated with a less favourable outcome. Because of frequent long-term hospitalization with immobilization and invasive ventilation, secondary complications, such as ventilation associated pulmonary infections and decubiti, must be avoided.

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Because the increased variability in morphological details can easily be misinterpreted as myopathic changes, analysis of paraspinal muscles should take into consideration that incomplete myopathic features and reduced oxidative enzyme activities for complex I, COX, and CS are normal variations at this location.

Camptocormia (CC) is defined as a trunkal flexion which worsens while standing, sitting and walking and disappears in the supine position. CC is a well-known clinical phenomenon in patients with generalized neuromuscular disorders like polymyositis, myasthenia gravis or motor neuron diseases, and it is also described in the context of movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease (PD) or multiple system atrophy. In association with PD, CC seems to be a rare symptom which occurs preferentially in late stages of the disease. Currently, there are 3 main hypotheses on the pathogenesis of CC in PD, i.e. a focal myopathy of the trunk muscles, axial dystonia and a drug-induced etiology. This review gives a synopsis and critical acclaim of these 3 etiologies and refers to the current study data and possible treatment strategies.

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