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Conducting functional assessments remotely can help alleviate the burden of in-person assessment on patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and their caregivers. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether scores from remote functional assessment of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy correspond to in-person scores on the same functional assessments. Remote live stream versus in-person scores on the North Star Ambulatory Assessment (including time [seconds] to complete the 10-meter walk/run and time to rise from the floor [supine to stand]) were assessed using statistical analyses, including intraclass correlation coefficient, and Pearson, Spearman, and Bland-Altman analyses. The remote and in-clinic assessments had to occur within 2 weeks of one another to be considered for this analysis. This analysis included patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, aged 4 to 7 years. Participants in this analysis received delandistrogene moxeparvovec (as part of SRP-9001-101 [Study 101; NCT03375164] or SRP-9001-102 [Study 102; NCT03769116]) or were randomized to receive placebo (in Part 1 of Study 102). This study evaluates score reproducibility between live stream remote scoring versus in-person functional assessments as determined by intraclass correlation coefficient, and Pearson, Spearman, and Bland-Altman analyses. The results showed that scores from remote functional assessment of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy strongly correlated with those obtained in person. These findings demonstrate congruence between live stream remote and in-person functional assessment and suggest that remote assessment has the potential to reduce the burden on a family by supplementing in-clinic visits.

Background. Caries significantly increases in people with cognitive impairment (PWCI). However, the interrelationships among cognitive impairment, dentally related function (DRF), oral hygiene, and caries remain unclear, increasing difficulties to care appropriately for PWCI. In this study, the researchers tested a conceptual model in which impaired DRF acts as a mediator between cognitive impairment and poor oral hygiene, which then leads to caries. Methods. The researchers recruited 68 older adult dentate participants with normal to severely impaired cognition from 3 assisted-living communities in North Carolina. Within 1 week of a calibrated oral examination performed by a geriatric dentist, a trained examiner blinded to the oral examination results conducted cognitive and functional assessments. The researchers conducted statistical analyses to examine the mediating effect of DRF on the relationship between cognitive impairment and oral hygiene or caries. Results. Cognitive impairment (β = 0.05; standard error [SE], 0.02; P = .017) and DRF (β = -0.07; SE, 0.02; P = .005) were significantly associated with oral hygiene. However, the association between cognitive impairment and oral hygiene was greatly reduced and became nonsignificant after controlling for DRF (β - 0.01; SE, 0.03; P = .430), suggesting that the effect of cognitive impairment on oral hygiene was mediated by DRF. DRF accounted for 80% of the total effect of cognitive impairment on oral hygiene. The ratio of the indirect effect to the total effect was .8. Associations between either cognitive impairment or DRF and caries were not significant, but oral hygiene was significantly associated with caries (β = 0.87; SE, 0.28; P < .001). Conclusions. DRF mediated the association between cognitive impairment and oral hygiene. It accounted for 80% of the total impact of cognitive impairment on oral hygiene, which was associated with increased caries in PWCI. Practical Implications. As a result of cognitive impairment, impaired DRF plays a critical role in the pathway from cognitive impairment to oral health decline. Therefore, DRF assessment should be a standard component of geriatric dental assessment. A functionally-tailored oral hygiene intervention is essential to improve oral health for persons with cognitive impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]