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Background: Tongue‐strengthening exercises may be used at home to strengthen swallowing‐related oropharyngeal muscles in community‐dwelling older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia; however, evidence of their effectiveness remains unclear. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of a home‐based tongue‐strengthening exercise (hTSE) using portable tool on swallowing‐related oropharyngeal muscles in community‐dwelling older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia. Methods: Forth community‐dwelling older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia were enrolled in the study. The participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. 1‐Repetition Maximum (1‐RM) of tongue muscle was measured in the experimental group using the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument, and hTSE was performed using a portable tool with an intensity corresponding to approximately 70%–80% of the range based on the 1‐RM value (90 times/day, 5 days/week, for 8 weeks). The control group did not perform any tongue exercises. The primary outcome measures were tongue strength and thickness. The secondary outcome measure was suprahyoid muscle strength (digastric and mylohyoid muscles). Results: The experimental group showed significantly greater increases in suprahyoid muscle (mylohyoid and digastric) thickness (p =.01 and.011, d = 1.0 and.55), as well as tongue strength and thickness (p <.001 and.029, d = 2.2 and.6) than the control group. Conclusion: This study confirmed that hTSE using a portable tool is effective in increasing swallowing‐related oropharyngeal muscle activity in older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia. Therefore, hTSE is recommended as an inexpensive, safe, and easy‐to‐use therapy for sarcopenic dysphagia in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personal neglect is the neglect of self-body space, which often occurs in patients with unilateral spatial neglect (USN), but lacks a dedicated rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of visual-motor illusion (VMI) on two-stroke hemiplegic patients with left-side personal neglect. Case 1 was a 53-year-old man diagnosed with a right lenticulostriate artery infarction. Case 2 was a 76-year-old woman diagnosed with a right middle cerebral artery infarction. USN symptoms were not observed in either patient in the desk USN assessment, but personal neglect and USN symptoms in daily life were observed in both patients. Intervention effects were verified using an ABA design, comprising a 5-day three-phase (A1, B, A2). In phase B, VMI was performed on the paralyzed upper limb for 10 min in addition to conventional physical therapy. Outcomes measures were the Fluff test, Catherine Bergego Scale (CBS), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), and Functional Independence Measure (FIM). In both patients, no improvements were noted in FMA, but improvements were observed in the Fluff test, CBS, and FIM in phase B; these effects were retained in phase A2. Therefore, VMI may have contributed to improvements in Personal neglect and USN symptoms in daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we compared the effects of action observation therapy (AOT) on the walking ability of stroke patients between videos with limited visual attention (body part videos) and a video with the whole body (whole body video). We employed a crossover design and conducted 3 AOT sessions (body part videos, whole body video and a scenery video) for 11 stroke patients. The evaluation items were the 10-m walking time and number of steps, cadence, trunk and knee joint angles during walking, and the timed up and go test (TUGT). After body part videos, the 10-m walking time, trunk and knee joint angles and TUGT significantly improved, suggesting them to be an efficient AOT method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to clarify the relationship between oral function and life‐space mobility or social networks in order to explore approaches that prevent a decline in oral function. Materials and methods: A total of 113 community‐dwelling older people (mean age; 75.7 ± 7.3 years) who participated in preventive long‐term care projects aimed at the maintenance or improvement of physical and mental functions were included in this study. The life‐space assessment (LSA) was used to evaluate life‐space mobility, while the Lubben Social Network Scale‐6 (LSNS‐6) was employed to assess social networks. Oral function was measured by maximum voluntary tongue pressure, oral diadochokinesis, the repetitive saliva swallowing test, and lip pressure. Indices of frailty were grip strength and the Kihon Checklist score. Multiple regression analysis was performed to clarify whether the LSA, LSNS‐6, and frailty are associated with oral function. Results: The results of the Kihon Checklist showed that 63 participants (56%) were subjectively and at least slightly aware of a decline in oral function. LSA (B = 0.222, p <.001) and grip strength (B = 0.266, p =.003) associated with maximum voluntary tongue pressure. The goodness of fit of the predictive model was an adjusted R2 value of.486. Other oral functions were not associated with any factors and the goodness of fit of the model was poor (Adjusted R2 <.1). LSNS‐6 was not associated with any oral function. Conclusions: Life‐space mobility and grip strength were independent factors associating maximum voluntary tongue pressure, while social networks did not directly association oral function. This study suggests the necessity of a program that approaches both oral and physical functions through guidance for securing a certain amount of daily activity for older people at risk of or exhibiting a decline in maximum voluntary tongue pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients' with a hemiplegic gait and difficulties with activities of daily living may improve through intensive training of their paretic lower limbs. This study examined the possibility of improving their gait by immobilizing the non-paretic knee joint in extension and promoting weight shift toward the paretic side. Single-case ABABA studies were conducted, involving three patients with hemiplegia. The patients walked with their non-paretic knee joints immobilized in extension using a dial-lock knee orthosis during the intervention (B1 and B2) periods. Measurement items included (1) temporal and distance factors and (2) hip, knee, and ankle joint angles during gait. In all subjects, the stance phase was significantly prolonged on the paretic side during all intervention periods following the first baseline (A1) period. In Subject 1, hip extension in the stance phase improved during all intervention periods following the A1 period, and, in Subjects 2 and 3, the knee hyperextension in the stance phase, which was observed during the A1 period, was resolved during the second (A2) and third (A3) baseline periods. Gait training with non-paretic knee immobilization may promote weight shift toward the paretic side to overcome a swing limitation on the immobilized side, consequently providing an opportunity for training in weight bearing for the paretic limb and an improved, more symmetrical gait pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the effect of 1α-hydroxyvitamin D 3 [1α(OH)D 3 ] on mice in the forced swimming test. Intragastric administration of 1.0 μg/kg of 1α(OH)D 3 reduced immobility time in the forced swimming test. At all concentrations tested (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 μg/kg), 1α(OH)D 3 had no effect on locomotor activity, compared with controls. These results suggest that 1α(OH)D 3 may have antidepressant-like activity.