Effectiveness of Dance/Movement Therapy Intervention for Children with Intellectual Disability at an Early Childhood Special Education Preschool

Children with intellectual disability (ID) often have deficits in gross motor skills and static and dynamic balance abilities, poor lower muscle strength, and an increased risk of serious falls. They also face difficulty in continuing physical activity programs due to cognitive impairment and easy loss of motivation. However, dance/movement therapy (DMT) has been found to help children with ID perform static and dynamic movements. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of DMT group sessions for children with ID as part of an early childhood special education preschool program. The outcome measures involved employing a hand-held dynamometer to assess knee extensor muscles, the one-leg stand test for static balance, and the timed “up and go” test for dynamic balance, and administering the Child Behavior Checklist and Caregiver-Teacher Report Form for children’s adaptive functions and behavioral problems, as reported by parents or relatives and teachers respectively. Twenty-one children with ID aged 36 to 72 months participated in the study. Ten 60-min DMT group sessions were conducted as manualized intervention, once a week. The measurements were done before and after the 10 DMT group session, and then compared. The results showed statistically significant changes in both knee extensor muscles, the standing time for both legs in the one-leg stand test, attention problems and affective problems in the Checklist, and total score, internalizing problems (including emotionally reactive and somatic complaints), externalizing problems (including attention problems and aggressive behavior), affective problems, anxiety problems, and attention deficit/hyperactivity problems in the Report Form. This study found that the DMT group sessions as part of an early childhood special education preschool program for children with ID aged 36 to 72 months helped improve their knee extensor muscles and static balance while reducing maladaptive behaviors, enabling them to enjoy the sessions for the full study period

Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B Causes Proliferation of Sensory C-Fibers and Subsequent Enhancement of Neurogenic Inflammation in Rat Skin

Background. Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) may be associated with the exacerbation of atopic dermatitis. We investigated whether SEB causes proliferation of sensory C-fibers and subsequent enhancement of plasma leakage induced by sensorineural stimulation in rat skin

Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor Enhances the Basal Rate of Protein Synthesis by Increasing Active Eukaryotic Elongation Factor 2 Levels and Promoting Translation Elongation in Cortical Neurons*

The constitutive and activity-dependent components of protein synthesis are both critical for neural function. Although the mechanisms controlling extracellularly induced protein synthesis are becoming clear, less is understood about the molecular networks that regulate the basal translation rate. Here we describe the effects of chronic treatment with various neurotrophic factors and cytokines on the basal rate of protein synthesis in primary cortical neurons. Among the examined factors, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) showed the strongest effect. The rate of protein synthesis increased in the cortical tissues of BDNF transgenic mice, whereas it decreased in BDNF knock-out mice. BDNF specifically increased the level of the active, unphosphorylated form of eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2). The levels of active eEF2 increased and decreased in BDNF transgenic and BDNF knock-out mice, respectively. BDNF decreased kinase activity and increased phosphatase activity against eEF2 in vitro. Additionally, BDNF shortened the ribosomal transit time, an index of translation elongation. In agreement with these results, overexpression of eEF2 enhanced protein synthesis. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the increased level of active eEF2 induced by chronic BDNF stimulation enhances translational elongation processes and increases the total rate of protein synthesis in neurons