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Botulinum toxin type A is effective in the treatment of foot pain associated with plantar fasciitis and increases the centre of pressure velocity during loading response without inducing fat pad atrophy.

Our results demonstrated that EEG-EMG coherence can detect ES-induced changes in the neuromuscular system. Also, because gamma coherence is linked to afferent inputs encoding, improvement in motor performance is likely related to ES-elicited strong sensory input and enhanced sensorimotor integration.

The peripheral sensory system is critical to regulating motor plasticity and motor recovery. Peripheral electrical stimulation (ES) can generate constant and adequate sensory input to influence the excitability of the motor cortex. The aim of this proof of concept study was to assess whether ES prior to each hand function training session for eight weeks can better improve neuromuscular control and hand function in chronic stroke individuals and change electroencephalography-electromyography (EEG-EMG) coherence, as compared to the control (sham ES). We recruited twelve subjects and randomly assigned them into ES and control groups. Both groups received 20-minute hand function training twice a week, and the ES group received 40-minute ES on the median nerve of the affected side before each training session. The control group received sham ES. EEG, EMG and Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) were collected at four different time points. The corticomuscular coherence (CMC) in the ES group at fourth weeks was significantly higher (p = 0.004) as compared to the control group. The notable increment of FMA at eight weeks and follow-up was found only in the ES group. The eight-week rehabilitation program that implemented peripheral ES sessions prior to function training has a potential to improve neuromuscular control and hand function in chronic stroke individuals.

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Systemic microvascular complications are related to the presence of diabetic neuropathy. This study investigated the associations of blood flow oscillations with peripheral neuropathy in 25 controls and 3 diabetic groups including clinical (24), subclinical (27) and without neuropathy (26). Laser Doppler skin perfusion was transformed into three low-frequency subintervals corresponding to endothelial, neurogenic and myogenic vasomotor controls. The average vasomotion was significantly reduced in clinical neuropathy group and characterized by endothelial and neural but not smooth muscle-related changes. The normalized spectrums revealed a relative increase of myogenic and decrease of neurogenic activity in subclinical neuropathy group. The myogenic component showed a statistically inverse correlation with postural fall in systolic blood pressure (r = -0.32, p < 0.01). The diabetic patients with decreased low-frequency vasomotor responses were associated with increased odds ratio of peripheral neuropathy [odds ratio = 3.51 (95% confidence interval = 1.19-10.31), p = 0.02]. This study elucidated possible interaction between impaired microvascular flow motion and diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The vasomotor changes of skin microcirculation could be detected even in the absence of overt cardiovascular dysfunction.

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