EFFECT OF ORTHOTIC SUBTALAR ALIGNMENT WITH CO-ACTIVATION EXERCISE FOR ALTERATION IN GAIT ENDURANCE IN A CHILD WITH CEREBRAL PALSYSINGLE CASE STUDY

Background: Energy cost of walking is two times higher in children with cerebral palsy when compared with normal children; this may be due to gait abnormalities.There is a negative influence on physical activity and early onsets of fatigue in activities of daily living are evident in cerebral palsy children and the reason for this is increase in energy cost of walking. Therefore, the treatment techniques which targets on correction of gait abnormalities and Energy conservation during walking are important to maintain orimprove independent functioning.The aim is to find out the effects of using Supra Malleolar Orthosis (SMO) along with co-activation exercise in the increase of gait endurance and also to encourage independent skills and abilities in cerebral palsy child. Methods: A 14 years child with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy was treated with custom made supra malleolar orthotic which was designed with an orthotic support followed with specific exercises, co-activating dorsiflexors and plantar flexors actively and with assistance. The subject was made to do the co-activation exercises 3 days per week for 8 weeks. Step length, stride length, cadence, navicular drop test, medial arch height and calcaneal eversion were measured before starting the treatment and at the end of 8th week. Results: the results of treatment shows that there is an improvement in 2 minutes’ walk test from 7(pre-test) to 13, step length from 22 (pre-test) to 32,stride length from 36(pre-test) to 47,cadence from 39 (pretest) to 37 after the use of Supra Malleolar Orthosis (SMO) and a co-activation exercises intervention. There was a clear and significant improvement noted in navicular drop test, medial arch height and calcaneal eversion after a period of 8 weeks use of orthosis and exercise intervention when compared with pre-test value. Conclusion: Orthotic subtalar alignment with co-acticvation exercises for alteration in gait endurance in a child is showing significantly good results in this case study of a child with cerebral palsy. The Co-activation exercise with Supra Malleolar Orthotic support reduces the intensity of symptoms and improved gait parameters in cerebral palsy child

Antidiabetic activity of ethanolic extract of tubers of Dioscorea alata in alloxan induced diabetic rats

Objective: To evaluate the antidiabetic activity of ethanolic extract of Dioscorea alata in glucose loaded and alloxan induced diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: The authenticated tubers of D. alata (DA) (JSSCPDP/2008/157) were collected from Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. The ethanol extract was tested for hypoglycemic activity in normal rats. In oral glucose tolerance test, glucose (3 g/kg, p.o.) was administered to non diabetic control, metformin (250 mg/kg, p.o.) and DA extract (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) to treat treated rats. Diabetes mellitus was induced by alloxan monohydrate (120 mg/kg, i.p.) in physiological saline after overnight fasting for 18 hours. DA extract (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) and standard drug metformin (250 mg/kg, p.o.) were administered to diabetic rats for 21 days. Fasting blood glucose level and changes in body weight were measured on days 0, 7, 14, and 21. At the end of 21 st day, serum lipid profile, total protein, albumin, and creatinine were assessed. Results: In glucose loaded normal rats, the treatment with the extract of DA had shown a highly significant reduction (P < 0.001) in blood glucose levels at the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg, respectively. The extract did not produce hypoglycemic activity at both the dose levels in normal, fasted rats. In alloxan induced diabetic rats, the body weight of the DA extract treated animals had shown a significant increase (P < 0.001) after 21 days treatment. The blood glucose level was reduced significantly by 47.48% and 52.09% after 21 days treatment at dose levels 100 and 200 mg/kg, respectively. Serum lipid levels, total protein, albumin, and creatinine were reversed toward near normal in treated rats as compared to diabetic control. Conclusion: The results indicate that ethanol extract of DA tubers possesses significant antidiabetic activity

COMPARISON OF MULTISENSORY VERSUS STRENGTHENING EXERCISES ON FUNCTIONAL MOBILITY AND BALANCE IN ELDERS

Background: Individuals with the age of 60 years and above may present with the symptoms of imbalance and body instability. Therefore, balance related activities such as standing, getting up from chair; walking becomes difficult which leads to fall. Also, old people are more prone to frequent diseases, sickness and also have limited regenerative capabilities when compared to other adults. So, the purpose of this study was to find out the comparison of multisensory versus strengthening exercises on functional mobility and balance in elders. Methods: 45 subjects with good comprehension were selected for the study based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and were randomized into three groups Group A(15), Group B(15), Group C (15) by simple random sampling technique. The subjects in Group A received Multisensory exercises whereas Group B received strengthening exercises and Group C underwent Walking. The subjects were made to do these exercises for five days a week for a total duration of 6 weeks. The baseline values and post –test values were assessed with Timed ‘up and go’ test (TUG) and Guralnik test battery. Results: The mean difference between subjects trained with Multisensory exercises (Group- A) and Walking (Group-C) is greater than Multisensory exercise (Group-A) and Strengthening exercise (Group B), Walking (Group C)and Strengthening(Group B)for both Timed up and go test (P<0.0001) and Guralnik test battery(P=0.05) (Graph 1, 2). This shows that multisensory exercises are effective compared to strengthening exercises and walking. Conclusion: In this study, multisensory exercises showed more improvement in mobility and balance. So, multisensory exercise can be considered as an adjunct with other exercises in rehabilitation of the elderly subjects with balance impairment

A Series of Ferulic Acid Amides Reveals Unexpected Peroxiredoxin 1 Inhibitory Activity with in vivo Antidiabetic and Hypolipidemic Effects

Insulin resistance is a major pathophysiological feature in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Ferulic acid is known for attenuating the insulin resistance and reducing the blood glucose in T2DM rats. In this work, we designed and synthesized a library of new ferulic acid amides (FAA), which could be considered as ring opening derivatives of the antidiabetic PPARγ agonists Thiazolidinediones (TZDs). However, since these compounds displayed weak PPAR transactivation capacity, we employed a proteomics approach to unravel their molecular target(s) and identified the peroxiredoxin 1 (PRDX1) as a direct binding target of FAAs. Interestingly, PRDX1, a protein with antioxidant and chaperone activity, has been implied in the development of T2DM by inducing hepatic insulin resistance. SPR, mass spectrometry-based studies, docking experiments and in vitro inhibition assay confirmed that compounds VIe and VIf bound PRDX1 and induced a dose-dependent inhibition. Furthermore, VIe and VIf significantly improved hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in streptozotocin-nicotinamide (STZ-NA)-induced diabetic rats as confirmed by histopathological examinations. These results provide guidance for developing the current FAAs as new potential antidiabetic agents

Adsorption of acid blue 1 on activated carbon produced from the wood of Ailanthus altissima

Carbon prepared from the wood of Ailanthus altissima, at 400 and 800ºC was used to adsorb acid blue 1 from aqueous solution at 10ºC and 45ºC. Characterization by XRD, SEM, EDS and FTIR shows that the surfaces contain functional groups like carboxyl which disappear at 800 ºC and thus favor the exposure of more porous structural surfaces which enhance the adsorption capacity. Relatively high amounts of carbon with respect to oxygen were found with the increase in activation temperature. First order, Bangham and parabolic models were found to fit the adsorption kinetic data. The reaction rate increased with the increase in temperature of adsorption/activation. Thermodynamic parameters like &#916;E&#8800; , &#916;H&#8800; , &#916;S&#8800; and &#916;G&#8800; were calculated. The negative values of &#916;S&#8800; reflect the decrease in the disorder of the system at the solid-solution interface, during adsorption. Gibbs free energy ( &#916;G&#8800;) represents the driving force for the affinity of dye for the carbon and it decreased with the increase in adsorption/activation temperature