784 research outputs found
Speech and language therapy versus placebo or no intervention for speech problems in Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease patients commonly suffer from speech and vocal problems including dysarthric speech, reduced loudness and loss of articulation. These symptoms increase in frequency and intensity with progression of the disease). Speech and language therapy (SLT) aims to improve the intelligibility of speech with behavioural treatment techniques or instrumental aids
Subjective Experiences of Speech and Language Therapy in Patients with Parkinson's Disease:A Pilot Study
Purpose. Parkinsonâs disease can produce a range of speech-language pathologies, which may require intervention. While evaluations of speech-language therapy have been undertaken, no work has been undertaken to capture patientsâ experiences of therapy. This was the aim of the present study. Methods. Semistructured interviews, using themes derived from the literature, were conducted with nine Parkinsonâs disease patients, all of whom had undergone speech-language therapy. Participantsâ responses were analysed in accordance with Thematic Network Analysis. Results. Four themes emerged: emotional reactions (frustration, embarrassment, lack of confidence, disappointment, and anxiety); physical impact (fatigue, breathing and swallowing, and word production); practical aspects (cost of treatment, waiting times, and the actual clinical experience); and expectations about treatment (met versus unmet). Conclusions. While many benefits of speech-language therapy were reported, several negative issues emerged which could impact adversely on rehabilitation. Parkinsonâs disease is associated with a range of psychological and physical sequelae, such as fatigue and depression; recognising any individual experiences which could exacerbate the existing condition and incorporating these into treatment planning may improve rehabilitation outcomes
Physiotherapy intervention in Parkinson's disease: systematic review and meta-analysis
Objective To assess the effectiveness of physiotherapy compared with no intervention in patients with Parkinsonâs disease. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Data sources Literature databases, trial registries, journals, abstract books, and conference proceedings, and reference lists, searched up to the end of January 2012. Review methods Randomised controlled trials comparing physiotherapy with no intervention in patients with Parkinsonâs disease were eligible. Two authors independently abstracted data from each trial. Standard meta-analysis methods were used to assess the effectiveness of physiotherapy compared with no intervention. Tests for heterogeneity were used to assess for differences in treatment effect across different physiotherapy interventions used. Outcome measures were gait, functional mobility and balance, falls, clinician rated impairment and disability measures, patient rated quality of life, adverse events, compliance, and economic analysis outcomes. Results 39 trials of 1827 participants met the inclusion criteria, of which 29 trials provided data for the meta-analyses. Significant benefit from physiotherapy was reported for nine of 18 outcomes assessed. Outcomes which may be clinically significant were speed (0.04 m/s, 95% confidence interval 0.02 to 0.06, P<0.001), Berg balance scale (3.71 points, 2.30 to 5.11, P<0.001), and scores on the unified Parkinsonâs disease rating scale (total score â6.15 points, â8.57 to â3.73, P<0.001; activities of daily living subscore â1.36, â2.41 to â0.30, P=0.01; motor subscore â5.01, â6.30 to â3.72, P<0.001). Indirect comparisons of the different physiotherapy interventions found no evidence that the treatment effect differed across the interventions for any outcomes assessed, apart from motor subscores on the unified Parkinsonâs disease rating scale (in which one trial was found to be the cause of the heterogeneity). Conclusions Physiotherapy has short term benefits in Parkinsonâs disease. A wide range of physiotherapy techniques are currently used to treat Parkinsonâs disease, with little difference in treatment effects. Large, well designed, randomised controlled trials with improved methodology and reporting are needed to assess the efficacy and cost effectiveness of physiotherapy for treating Parkinsonâs disease in the longer term
Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of Botulinum toxin for the prevention of migraine
Objectives To assess the effects of botulinum toxin for prevention of migraine in adults.Design Systematic review and meta-analysis.Data sources CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase and trial registries.Eligibility criteria We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of botulinum toxin compared with placebo, active treatment or clinically relevant different dose for adults with chronic or episodic migraine, with or without the additional diagnosis of medication overuse headache.Data extraction and synthesis Cochrane methods were used to review double-blind RCTs. Twelve week post-treatment time-point data was analysed.Results Twenty-eight trials (n=4190) were included. Trial quality was mixed. Botulinum toxin treatment resulted in reduced frequency of â2.0 migraine days/month (95% CI â2.8 to â1.1, n=1384) in chronic migraineurs compared with placebo. An improvement was seen in migraine severity, measured on a numerical rating scale 0 to 10 with 10 being maximal pain, of â2.70âcm (95% CI â3.31 to â2.09, n=75) and â4.9âcm (95% CI â6.56 to â3.24, n=32) for chronic and episodic migraine respectively. Botulinum toxin had a relative risk of treatment related adverse events twice that of placebo, but a reduced risk compared with active comparators (relative risk 0.76, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.98) and a low withdrawal rate (3%). Although individual trials reported non-inferiority to oral treatments, insufficient data were available for meta-analysis of effectiveness outcomes.Conclusions In chronic migraine, botulinum toxin reduces migraine frequency by 2âdays/month and has a favourable safety profile. Inclusion of medication overuse headache does not preclude its effectiveness. Evidence to support or refute efficacy in episodic migraine was not identified
Botulinum toxins for the prevention of migraine in adults
BackgroundMigraine occurs in around 15% of adults and is ranked as the seventh most disabling disease amongst all diseases globally. Despite the available treatments many people suffer prolonged and frequent attacks which have a major impact on their quality of life. Chronic migraine is defined as 15 or more days of headache per month, at least eight of those days being migraine. People with episodic migraine have fewer than 15 headache days per month. Botulinum toxin type A has been licensed in some countries for chronic migraine treatment, due to the results of just two trials.ObjectivesTo assess the effects of botulinum toxins versus placebo or active treatment for the prevention or reduction in frequency of chronic or episodic migraine in adults.Search methodsWe searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE & MEDLINE in Process, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov and World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry (to December 2017). We examined reference lists and carried out citation searches on key publications. We sent correspondence to major manufacturers of botulinum toxin.Selection criteriaRandomised, doubleâblind, controlled trials of botulinum toxin (any seroâtype) injections into the head and neck for prophylaxis of chronic or episodic migraine in adults. Eligible comparators were placebo, alternative prophylactic agent or different dose of botulinum toxin.Data collection and analysisTwo review authors independently selected trials and extracted data. For continuous outcomes we used mean change data when available. For dichotomous data we calculated risk ratios (RRs). We used data from the 12âweek postâtreatment followâup time point. We assessed the evidence using GRADE and created two 'Summary of findings' tables.Main resultsDescription of trialsWe found 90 articles describing 28 trials (4190 participants), which were eligible for inclusion. The longest treatment duration was three rounds of injections with three months between treatments, so we could not analyse longâterm effects. For the primary analyses, we pooled data from both chronic and episodic participant populations. Where possible, we also separated data into chronic migraine, episodic migraine and âmixed groupâ classification subgroups. Most trials (21 out of 28) were small (fewer than 50 participants per trial arm). The risk of bias for included trials was low or unclear across most domains, with some trials reporting a high risk of bias for incomplete outcome data and selective outcome reporting.Botulinum toxin versus placeboTwentyâthree trials compared botulinum toxin with placebo. Botulinum toxin may reduce the number of migraine days per month in the chronic migraine population by 3.1 days (95% confidence interval (CI) â4.7 to â1.4, 4 trials, 1497 participants, lowâquality evidence). This was reduced to â2 days (95% CI â2.8 to â1.1, 2 trials, 1384 participants; moderateâquality evidence) when we removed small trials.A single trial of people with episodic migraine (N = 418) showed no difference between groups for this outcome measure (P = 0.49).In the chronic migraine population, botulinum toxin reduces the number of headache days per month by 1.9 days (95% CI â2.7 to â1.0, 2 trials, 1384 participants, highâquality evidence). We did not find evidence of a difference in the number of migraine attacks for both chronic and episodic migraine participants (6 trials, N = 2004, P = 0.30, lowâquality evidence). For the population of both chronic and episodic migraine participants a reduction in severity of migraine rated during clinical visits, on a 10 cm visual analogue scale (VAS) of 3.3 cm (95% CI â4.2 to â2.5, very lowâquality evidence) in favour of botulinum toxin treatment came from four small trials (N = 209); better reporting of this outcome measure from the additional eight trials that recorded it may have improved our confidence in the pooled estimate. Global assessment and qualityâofâlife measures were poorly reported and it was not possible to carry out statistical analysis of these outcome measures. Analysis of adverse events showed an increase in the risk ratio with treatment with botulinum toxin over placebo 30% (RR 1.28, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.47, moderateâquality evidence). For every 100 participants 60 experienced an adverse event in the botulinum toxin group compared with 47 in the placebo group.Botulinum toxin versus other prophylactic agentThree trials studied comparisons with alternative oral prophylactic medications. Metaâanalyses were not possible for number of migraine days, number of headache days or number of migraine attacks due to insufficient data, but individually trials reported no differences between groups for a variety of efficacy measures in the population of both chronic and episodic migraine participants. The global impression of disease measured using Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) scores were reported from two trials that showed no difference between groups. Compared with oral treatments, botulinum toxin showed no betweenâgroup difference in the risk of adverse events (2 trials, N = 114, very lowâquality evidence). The relative risk reduction (RRR) for withdrawing from botulinum toxin due to adverse events compared with the alternative prophylactic agent was 72% (P = 0.02, 2 trials, N = 119).Dosing trialsThere were insufficient data available for the comparison of different doses.Quality of the evidenceThe quality of the evidence assessed using GRADE methods was varied but mostly very low; the quality of the evidence for the placebo and active control comparisons was low and very low, respectively for the primary outcome measure. Small trial size, high risk of bias and unexplained heterogeneity were common reasons for downgrading the quality of the evidence.Authors' conclusionsIn chronic migraine, botulinum toxin type A may reduce the number of migraine days per month by 2 days compared with placebo treatment. Nonâserious adverse events were probably experienced by 60/100 participants in the treated group compared with 47/100 in the placebo group. For people with episodic migraine, we remain uncertain whether or not this treatment is effective because the quality of this limited evidence is very low. Better reporting of outcome measures in published trials would provide a more complete evidence base on which to draw conclusions
Stellar Populations at the Center of IC 1613
We have observed the center of the Local Group dwarf irregular galaxy IC 1613
with WFPC2 aboard the Hubble Space Telescope in the F439W, F555W, and F814W
filters. We find a dominant old stellar population (aged ~7 Gyr), identifiable
by the strong red giant branch (RGB) and red clump populations. From the (V-I)
color of the RGB, we estimate a mean metallicity of the intermediate-age
stellar population [Fe/H] = -1.38 +/- 0.31. We confirm a distance of 715 +/- 40
kpc using the I-magnitude of the RGB tip. The main-sequence luminosity function
down to I ~25 provides evidence for a roughly constant SFR of approximately
0.00035 solar masses per year across the WFPC2 field of view (0.22 square kpc)
during the past 250-350 Myr. Structure in the blue loop luminosity function
implies that the SFR was ~50% higher 400-900 Myr ago than today. The mean heavy
element abundance of these young stars is 1/10th solar. The best explanation
for a red spur on the main-sequence at I = 24.7 is the blue horizontal branch
component of a very old stellar population at the center of IC 1613. We have
also imaged a broader area of IC 1613 using the 3.5-meter WIYN telescope under
excellent seeing conditions. The AGB-star luminosity function is consistent
with a period of continuous star formation over at least the age range 2-10
Gyr. We present an approximate age-metallicity relation for IC 1613, which
appears similar to that of the Small Magellanic Cloud. We compare the Hess
diagram of IC 1613 to similar data for three other Local Group dwarf galaxies,
and find that it most closely resembles the nearby, transition-type dwarf
galaxy Pegasus (DDO 216).Comment: To appear in the September 1999 Astronomical Journal. LaTeX, uses
AASTeX v4.0, emulateapj style file, 19 pages, 12 postscript figures, 2
tables. 5 of the figures available separately via the WW
Complementary approaches to understanding the plant circadian clock
Circadian clocks are oscillatory genetic networks that help organisms adapt
to the 24-hour day/night cycle. The clock of the green alga Ostreococcus tauri
is the simplest plant clock discovered so far. Its many advantages as an
experimental system facilitate the testing of computational predictions.
We present a model of the Ostreococcus clock in the stochastic process
algebra Bio-PEPA and exploit its mapping to different analysis techniques, such
as ordinary differential equations, stochastic simulation algorithms and
model-checking. The small number of molecules reported for this system tests
the limits of the continuous approximation underlying differential equations.
We investigate the difference between continuous-deterministic and
discrete-stochastic approaches. Stochastic simulation and model-checking allow
us to formulate new hypotheses on the system behaviour, such as the presence of
self-sustained oscillations in single cells under constant light conditions.
We investigate how to model the timing of dawn and dusk in the context of
model-checking, which we use to compute how the probability distributions of
key biochemical species change over time. These show that the relative
variation in expression level is smallest at the time of peak expression,
making peak time an optimal experimental phase marker. Building on these
analyses, we use approaches from evolutionary systems biology to investigate
how changes in the rate of mRNA degradation impacts the phase of a key protein
likely to affect fitness. We explore how robust this circadian clock is towards
such potential mutational changes in its underlying biochemistry. Our work
shows that multiple approaches lead to a more complete understanding of the
clock
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