A case of Hemiplegia Vegetativa Alterna, Paroxysmal Sympathetic Hyperactivity and Ogilvie's Syndrome: the role of central sympathetic pathways in their pathophysiology

Meeting Theme: Degenerative Lumbar SpineOral-Poster Presentation 1Hemiplegia vegetativa alterna (HVA) is the clinical syndrome of contralateral hemiparesis, hemisensory loss, hemihyperhydrosis and ipsilateral Horner’s syndrome1,2. The term vegetativa alterna denotes that a single brainstem lesion manifests with ipsilateral and contralateral, i.e. crossed, signs of autonomic (“vegetative”) sympathetic nervous system dysfunction. Fewer than five cases have been reported and most were a result of stroke involving the occlusion of posterior cerebral artery (PCA) perforators that supply the anterolateral mesencephalon. We describe a 46 year old male who suffered from aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and exhibited HVA as …published_or_final_versio

Listening to the ones who care: exploring the perceptions of informal caregivers towards ambient assisted living applications

Ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies have received increased attention from government, industry and research. Informal caregivers will be directly affected by the use of these technologies and are likely to be key influencers in the adoption decision of older adults. However, so far the informal caregivers’ perceptions, concerns and needs have been mostly overlooked in AAL research. To address these shortcomings, two studies were conducted. Study I consisted of 20 in-depth interviews with informal caregivers to investigate their perception of various AAL applications. In Study II these findings were validated with regard to our own prototype application called SONOPA. The second study included couples of informal caregivers and care receivers to compare both user groups. Although informal caregivers had a more positive attitude than care receivers and appreciated the opportunities of AAL technologies (e.g., increased safety, peace of mind); they also had several concern such as invading the care receiver’s privacy, the lack of human touch, and the care receiver’s technology experience. To address these concerns, informal caregivers should be more involved when developing AAL applications