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This study aimed to evaluate the effects of local calf vibration on balance, blood flow, and nerve conductivity in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). An open-label controlled trial was designed. Patients with confirmed diagnoses of type 2 diabetes and DPN were enrolled in the study and underwent ten sessions of local calf vibration therapy for the dominant leg. The other leg was considered the control. Balance evaluation, nerve conduction studies, and color Doppler ultrasound were performed before and after the treatment course. The Wilcoxon signed rank test and the Mann–Whitney test were used to evaluate the differences between the test results before and after the intervention and between the intervention and control legs. Seventeen patients with a mean age of 60.3 ± 5.6 years (11 males) participated in the study. Mean Brief BESTest total scores were significantly improved (14.06 vs. 17.35; P =.01, Cohen's d = 0.743). There were no significant differences between the treated and control legs regarding the nerve conduction and color Doppler ultrasound parameters before and after the intervention (P ≥.054). Changes in the parameters were also not significantly different between legs (P ≥.078), except for common peroneal nerve conduction velocity, for which there was a higher increase in its value in the treated legs compared to the control legs (4.17 vs. 0.9, P =.002). Local calf vibration may positively affect balance and lower extremities nerve conduction in patients with DPN, and the findings of this study can be a basis for studies evaluating the efficacy of local calf vibration for treating DPN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key Clinical Message: Botulinum toxin (BTX) injection can be an effective treatment for persistent pain and functional impairment associated with hypertrophy of the first dorsal interosseous muscle. It offers a non‐surgical and minimally invasive alternative for those who have failed conservative treatment, showcasing the therapeutic promise of BTX for addressing similar musculoskeletal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aphasia is one of the most debilitating impairments after stroke, significantly affecting patients' comprehension, communication, functional recovery, and overall quality of life. There are numerous strategies for treating aphasia in post-stroke patients. Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) technologies, particularly transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have demonstrated promising improvements in post-stroke aphasia when used as an adjunct therapy. However, previous studies have stimulated language-related areas only. This literature review examined the effect of primary motor cortex (M1) stimulation on language function and aphasia following stroke. Applying tDCS or TMS to the primary motor cortex has been shown to improve language recovery following stroke, suggesting a combination with other forms of speech-language rehabilitation has the potential to improve aphasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The present, open-labeled study aimed to compare the distal approach (DA) for local corticosteroid injection (LCI) with the conventional proximal approach (PA) in alleviating the symptom and improving the electrodiagnostic parameters of the patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Methods: A total of 60 participants with nonsevere CTS were included in the present randomized controlled trial (RCT), of which 29 and 31 were assigned to the DA and PA groups, respectively. Each group received a single, landmark-guided injection of local methylprednisolone. The participants were assessed preintervention and 3 months later using the measures of visual analog scale (VAS), Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ), hand grip strength, and nerve conduction study (NCS). Results: Following a 3-month follow-up, both groups had significant improvements in VAS, both functional and severity subscales of BCTQ, hand grip strength, and some electrodiagnostic parameters (all P -values <.05). Moreover, the DA group had a significantly lower procedure duration than the PA group (9.80 ± 1.12 vs. 27.61 ± 1.77; P <.001). Conclusions: LCI using the DA should be considered a feasible, safe, and effective therapeutic method in patients with mild to moderate CTS. It had a shorter procedure duration than conventional PA, while their clinical and electrophysiological results were similar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Almost half of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathies (DPNs) are symptom-free. Methods including questionnaires and electrodiagnosis (EDx) can be fruitful for easy reach to early diagnosis, correct treatments of diabetic neuropathy, and so decline of complications for instance diabetic foot ulcer and prevention of high costs. The goal of our study was to compare effectiveness of the Michigan neuropathy screening instrument (MNSI), United Kingdom screening test (UKST) and electrophysiological evaluation in confirming diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Methods: One hundred twenty five known diabetes mellitus male and female subjects older than 18 with or without symptoms of neuropathy comprised in this research. All of them were interviewed in terms of demographic data, lipid profile, HbA1C, duration of disease, and history of retinopathy, so examined by Michigan neuropathy screening instrument (MNSI), United Kingdom screening test (UKST), and nerve conduction studies (NCS). The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software 18. Results: One hundred twenty five diabetic patients (70 female, 55 male) were recruited in this study with a mean age of 58.7 ± 10.2, and mean duration of diabetes was 10.17 ± 6.9 years. The mean neuropathy score of MNSI and UKST were 2.3 (1.7) and 4.16 (2.9), respectively. Each instrument detected the peripheral neuropathy in 78 (69 %) and 91 (73 %) of patients, respectively. There was a significant relationship between number of neuropathies and mean of diabetes duration and development of retinopathy in both questionnaire evaluations and NCS. By nerve conduction study, neuropathy was detected in 121 (97 %) diabetic patients were reported in order 15 (12 %) mononeuropathy (as 33 % sensory and 67 % motor neuropathy) and 106 (85 %) polyneuropathy (as 31 % motor and 69 % sensorimotor neuropathy). Conclusions: As regards NCS is an objective, simple, and non-invasive tool and also can determine level of damage and regeneration in peripheral nerves, this study suggests electrodiagnosis as a convenient option for screening, confirming, and follow up of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]