Perception of Filipino physicians on the roles and scope of practice of physical therapy in the Philippines: A multi-method quantitative study

Introduction: Physical therapists (PTs) are licensed practitioners who can assess, diagnose, and provide treatment interventions that restore patients to optimal function. While PTs can deliver complete management plans, the practice of physical therapy (PT) in the Philippines follows a referral system where physicians are the first contact of the patient, emphasizing the importance of physician\u27s perception towards the role of PTs and scope of PT service. This study aimed to determine the internal consistency of the Perception on Physical Therapists Questionnaire (PoPTQ), and to use this tool to report the existing perceptions of Filipino physicians on the practice of PT. Method: This study was divided into two phases and utilized a multi-method quantitative research design. For Phase 1 (psychometric), 18 questionnaires administered to Filipino physicians were used to compute Cronbach\u27s α of PoPTQ. A total of 134 questionnaires of the same population were analyzed for Phase 2 (cross-sectional), in which descriptive statistics and cross tab analysis were used to report the respondents\u27 perceptions. Both phases utilized online means of data gathering done via convenience sampling. Results: Phase 1 revealed a Cronbach\u27s α value of 0.528 for all items of PoPTQ. Phase 2 showed that physicians who have attended lectures discussing the roles of PTs or have experience with working with them have a higher referral rate than those with no prior exposure to PTs. Discussion: Filipino physicians believe that PTs can establish strong patient-therapist relationships, treat different patients, and acknowledge the roles of PTs in clinical and research settings. Data suggest that adequate foundational knowledge, positive perceptions, and high awareness of PTs\u27 roles and scope of practice are observed among Filipino physicians. However, there remains a need to increase collaboration opportunities between PTs and physicians in their academic years and programs that focus on the promotion of PT roles and scope of practice

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues