The Effect of an Exercise-Based Balance Intervention on Physical and Cognitive Performance for Older Adults: A Pilot Study

Background: Several exercise-based falls prevention interventions produced significant long-term reductions in fall rate, but few demonstrate long-term improvements in falls risk factors. A strong body of evidence supports a protective effect of aerobic or strength-training exercise on cognition. Individuals participating in an exercise-based balance improvement program may also experience this protective effect. This may contribute to the decreased rate of falls reported in the literature. Purpose: To determine if individuals participating in an evidence-based exercise program to reduce falls would demonstrate improvements in both physical and cognitive performance

A Pilot Study: Coordination of Precision Grip in Children and Adolescents with High Functioning Autism

PURPOSE: This pilot study compared temporal coordination during a precision grip task between 13 children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who were high functioning and 13 peers with typical development. METHODS: Temporal coordination between grip and load forces was measured using latency between onset of grip and load forces, grip force at onset of load force, peak grip force (PGF), and time to PGF. RESULTS: Compared with peers with typical development, participants with ASD demonstrated prolonged latency between grip and load forces, elevated grip force at onset of load force, and increased movement variability. PGF and time to PGF were not significantly different between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate temporal dyscoordination in participants with ASD. The findings also enhance our understanding of motor coordination deficits in persons with ASD and have theoretical as well as clinical implications

Physical Performance Characteristics of Assisted Living Residents and Risk for Adverse Health Outcomes

Little is known about the physical performance ability of residential care/assisted living (RC/AL) residents and its relationship to adverse outcomes such as fracture, nursing home placement, functional decline, and death. The purposes of this paper are to: 1) describe the functional characteristics of RC/AL residents; 2) examine the relationships between resident- and facility-characteristics and physical performance; and 3) determine the predictive value of physical performance for adverse outcomes

Pharmacologic Inhibition of the TGF-β Type I Receptor Kinase Has Anabolic and Anti-Catabolic Effects on Bone

During development, growth factors and hormones cooperate to establish the unique sizes, shapes and material properties of individual bones. Among these, TGF-β has been shown to developmentally regulate bone mass and bone matrix properties. However, the mechanisms that control postnatal skeletal integrity in a dynamic biological and mechanical environment are distinct from those that regulate bone development. In addition, despite advances in understanding the roles of TGF-β signaling in osteoblasts and osteoclasts, the net effects of altered postnatal TGF-β signaling on bone remain unclear. To examine the role of TGF-β in the maintenance of the postnatal skeleton, we evaluated the effects of pharmacological inhibition of the TGF-β type I receptor (TβRI) kinase on bone mass, architecture and material properties. Inhibition of TβRI function increased bone mass and multiple aspects of bone quality, including trabecular bone architecture and macro-mechanical behavior of vertebral bone. TβRI inhibitors achieved these effects by increasing osteoblast differentiation and bone formation, while reducing osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption. Furthermore, they induced the expression of Runx2 and EphB4, which promote osteoblast differentiation, and ephrinB2, which antagonizes osteoclast differentiation. Through these anabolic and anti-catabolic effects, TβRI inhibitors coordinate changes in multiple bone parameters, including bone mass, architecture, matrix mineral concentration and material properties, that collectively increase bone fracture resistance. Therefore, TβRI inhibitors may be effective in treating conditions of skeletal fragility

Effect of the environment on gait and gaze behavior in older adult fallers compared to older adult non-fallers.

INTRODUCTION:Compared to controlled laboratory settings, the real world is highly distracting with constant demands on visual attention to avoid hazards and falling. Fall-risk assessments do not adequately take into account the potential role of everyday distractions and environmental hazards. The purpose of this project was to identify the effect of the environment on gait and gaze behavior during walking in older adult fallers relative to non-fallers. METHODS:Thirteen older adult fallers (76.8±9.4 years, 3.2±2.3 falls in last year) and 13 age-matched non-fallers (78.3±7.3 years, 0 falls in last year) participated. Participants walked in a real-world and lab setting while gait and gaze were recorded. Gait variables were stride length variability, stride duration variability, and stride velocity. Gaze was analyzed for percentage of time fixating and average fixation duration coded across 6 areas of interest (AOIs) in the visual surroundings. RESULTS:Non-fallers walked faster than fallers, but there were no other group or environment effects on gait. For gaze behavior, fallers had shorter fixation durations on the near environment than non-fallers, but only in the real world. In the real world relative to the lab, fallers decreased fixation durations on the near environment but increased durations on near people. In the real world, participants spent a greater proportion of time fixating on people than on the walking path or the near environment compared to the lab. After adjusting for baseline gait speed, fallers had shorter fixation durations than non-fallers in both environments. CONCLUSIONS:Our results indicate that in a busy environment, older adults concentrate most of their overt visual attention on people when navigating their walking path. Fallers in particular focus longer on people near to them and have overall shorter fixations than non-fallers. Visual focus while walking in a busy environment should be further explored as a fall-risk factor