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Objectives: Back pain is one of the major problems for the public health system in the western world. The purposes of this study were to assess back pain in a large cohort of adolescents; to evaluate the prevalence, intensity, and features; and obtain information about drug management of this symptom., Methods: One thousand four hundred seventy-one healthy students aged 14 to 19 years were enrolled in the study. The subjects underwent a face-to-face interview using an ad hoc questionnaire, the Numeric Rating Scale, the Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory, and the Short-Form 36 questionnaire., Results: Sixty-eight percent of adolescents reported moderate to severe pain, with a higher prevalence of moderate/severe pain in female. The intensity of pain was higher (P < 0.001) in females than in men. A correlation was found between pain and quality of life. Considering the adolescents with severe pain, 21.6% requested a doctor's opinion, and 18% used analgesics (63.2% of them without a doctor's prescription), with a frequency of about 2 times per month., Conclusions: We found that the prevalence of back pain in adolescents is very high, with the consequences on quality of life, and it becomes frequently a self-managed symptom. This should encourage research on the causes of pain in order to limit the risk factors underlying the pain development and obtain a good prevention strategy., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2019 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and purpose Charcot−Marie−Tooth ( CMT) disease is the most common inherited neuropathy, but therapeutic options have been limited to symptom management. Past pharmacological trials have failed, possibly due to insensitive outcome measures ( OMs). The aim of the current study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the 6-min walk test (6 MWT) and StepWatch™ Activity Monitoring ( SAM) with other previously validated OMs in CMT disease. Methods A prospective multicenter study was performed, consecutively enrolling 168 CMT patients (104 with CMT1A, 27 with CMT1B, 37 with X-linked CMT) from Italian centers specializing in CMT care. Results Statistical analysis showed that the 6 MWT was highly related with all previously used OMs. Some, but not all, SAM parameters were related to commonly used OMs but may provide more information about quality of life. Conclusions The current study demonstrated the validity and reliability of the 6 MWT and SAM as OMs for CMT. Moreover, SAM provides data that correlate better with quality of life measures, making it useful in future rehabilitation trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stroke is the leading cause of disability worldwide, with a significant individual, family and economic impact. Restoring balance and a more fluid, safe and correct gait is a prerequisite for the patient to recover autonomy in activities of daily life. Furthermore, a consequence of impaired gait recovery in stroke patients is the high risk of falls, which worsens their quality of life [1]. Since many falls are predictable, early identification of the risk of falls is crucial for developing tailored interventions to prevent such falls. Recently, an instrumental fall risk assessment index was developed using the Hunova® robotic platform (Silver Index - Movendo Technology, srl, Genoa, IT) with the aim of giving an early indication of this risk using numerical data of both static and dynamic balance [2]. In order to combine an instrumental assessment of balance and walking with a clinical evaluation, the aim of this study is to evaluate the correlation between the Silver Index and gait analysis parameters in order to be able to propose more personalized rehabilitation training. We enrolled 12 stroke patients, aged between 70 and 95 years. The risk of falls evaluation was performed by Hunova® robotic platform computing the Silver Index. The gait was analyzed by an optoelectronic system with 8 infrared cameras (SMART-DX500 – BTS Bioengineering, Milan, IT). We used the Davis protocol that includes 22 markers. For each patient we calculated the mean values as well as the coefficient of variation (CV) and the multiple correlation coefficient (CMC) of spatio-temporal parameters and joint kinematic parameters. We assessed CV and CMC to quantify variability of the discrete and continuous variables, respectively [3]. We used Spearman test to calculate the correlation between the Silver Index and the gait analysis parameters. The correlation analysis shows a statistically significant correlation between the Silver Index and the stance phase of the unaffected side (%) (p=0.036, ρ=0.700) and between the Silver Index and the swing phase of the unaffected side (%) (p=0.036, ρ=-0.700). Furthermore, the Silver Index correlates with the variability of step width (p=0.007, ρ=-0.816). These preliminary results show that the risk of falling is higher in patients who have a longer stance phase of the unaffected limb and a shorter duration of the swing phase always of the unaffected limb. Furthermore, our results show that patients who fall more have less variability in step width. This could be an indication that these patients are unable to make the continuous adjustments that occur physiologically during gait and thus fail to produce dynamic adaptation during walking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]