Anatomical Studies Evaluating Pediatric Regional Anesthesia: A Scoping Review Lucas Ferreira Gomes Pereira, Ricardo Vieira Carlos, Albert van Schoor, Adrian Bosenberg, Natália Mariana Silva Luna, Rebeca da Costa Silva, Bianca de Fátima Bertanha, Maria José Carvalho Carmona, Vinícius Caldeira Quintão Children, 2024 Background: Pediatric regional anesthesia has been driven by the gradual rise in the adoption of opioid-sparing strategies and the growing concern over the possible adverse effects of general anesthetics on neurodevelopment. Nonetheless, performing regional anesthesia studies in a pediatric population is challenging and accounts for the scarce evidence. This study aimed to review the scientific foundation of studies in cadavers to assess regional anesthesia techniques in children. Methods: We searched the following databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science. We included anatomical cadaver studies assessing peripheral nerve blocks in children. The core data collected from studies were included in tables and comprised block type, block evaluation, results, and conclusion. Results: The search identified 2409 studies, of which, 16 were anatomical studies on the pediatric population. The techniques evaluated were the erector spinae plane block, ilioinguinal/iliohypogastric nerve block, sciatic nerve block, maxillary nerve block, paravertebral block, femoral nerve block, radial nerve block, greater occipital nerve block, infraclavicular brachial plexus block, and infraorbital nerve block. Conclusion: Regional anesthesia techniques are commonly performed in children, but the lack of anatomical studies may result in reservations regarding the dispersion and absorption of local anesthetics. Further anatomical research on pediatric regional anesthesia may guide the practice.
EFFECTS OF TREADMILL GAIT TRAINING ON BALANCE IN PARKINSON’S PATIENTS AFTER DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION Viviane Carolina Sales de Andrade, Angelica Castilho Alonso, Natalia Mariana Silva Luna, Fernanda Botta Tarallo Rogatto, Guilherme Carlos Brech, Danilo Sales Bocalini, Júlia Maria D’Andrea Greve Acta Ortopedica Brasileira, 2024 Objective: After deep brain stimulation (DBS), patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) typically still present significant gait and postural stability problems, and thus additional interventions are needed. In this way, our purpose was evaluate the comparative effectiveness of treadmill training, with and without body weight support, on balance outcomes among patients with PD after DBS. Methods: Eleven patients with PD that were using bilateral subthalamic nucleus DBS were evaluated using Time Up and Go test (TUG); Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Static Posturography. In phase 1, all subjects participated in 8-weeks of treadmill training in conjunction with conventional physiotherapy. After six weeks (wash-out), each patient then participated in a subsequent 8-weeks of treadmill training with partial body weight support. Results: After the phase 1, there were improvements on the cognitive TUG performance (Before: 15.7 ± 1,8 sec; After: 13.7 ± 3.1 sec; p < 0.01) and an increase of anteroposterior and medio-lateral body oscillation with eyes closed. After the phase 2, there were improvements in conventional (Before: 12.3 ± 2.0 sec; After: 10.7 ± 1.7 sec; p < 0.01) and cognitive (Before: 14.6 ± 3.5 sec; After: 12.5 ± 1.6 sec; p < 0.05) TUG performances. There were no significant changes in the Berg Balance Scale following either training protocol. Conclusion: Both trainings improved static and dynamic balance and had similar results; however, supported treadmill training seemed to be a potentially superior option, as patients tended to feel safer. Level of Evidence II, therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment outcomes.
CORRELATION OF THE SAGITTAL BALANCE WITH POSTURAL ANALYSIS OF THE PELVIS AND LUMBAR SPINE Marília Simões Lopes Quintana, Angelica Castilho Alonso, Natália Mariana Silva Luna, Jessica Paulino da Silva, Matheus Henrique dos Santos Lino, Guilherme Carlos Brech, Júlia Maria D’Andrea Greve Acta Ortopedica Brasileira, 2024 Objective: Evaluate and correlate the sagittal balance parameters with the postural of the pelvis and lumbar spine. Methods: 80 individuals of both sexes, aged between 20 and 35 years, were evaluated. Biophotogrammetry was done with the SAPO software program. Measurements of the sagittal balance parameters were obtained by analyzing a lateral view panoramic radiography of the vertebral column, in which the anatomical points of reference were digitally marked. The calculation of the angles was done automatically by the Keops program. Results: In Keops assessment, 17.5% of the sample had high pelvic incidence angles (> 60°), 31.5% had low pelvic incidence angles (< 45°), and 51.2% had medium pelvic incidence angles (between 46° and 59°). SAPO showed 12,5% lordosis, 40% retroversion, and 47,5% normal curvature. In the right lateral view, pelvic incidence angle had a moderate and positive correlation with vertical alignment of the trunk and with vertical alignment of the body, and a negative and moderate correlation with horizontal alignment of the pelvis. Conclusion: Differences were found between vertical alignment measurements from the postural evaluation system (SAPO). A positive correlation was found between PI from Keops and pelvic anteversion from SAPO. Level of Evidence II; Prospective Study.
Advanced glycation end products consumption and the decline of functional capacity in patients with Parkinson's disease: Cross-sectional study Jenifer Kristina Alves de Almeida, Guilherme Carlos Brech, Natália Mariana Silva Luna, Rodrigo Tallada Iborra, Jose Maria Soares-Junior, Edmund Chada Baracat, Júlia Maria D'Andrea Greve, Angélica Castilho Alonso, Adriana Machado-Lima Clinics, 2024 INTRODUCTION: Advanced Glycation End-Products (AGEs) are a diverse group of highly reactive molecules that play a vital role in the development of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's Disease (PD), leading to a decline in functional and cognitive capacity. The objective of this study was to assess the intake and quantification of AGEs in individuals with PD and to correlate them with their functional and cognitive abilities. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study involving 20 PD patients and 20 non-PD individuals as the Control group (C). The autofluorescence reader was used to evaluate skin AGEs, while food recall was used to quantify AGEs consumed for three different days. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Short Physical Performance Battery, and handgrip tests were used. PD patients demonstrated greater impairment in functional capacity compared to the control group. RESULTS: Dominant Handgrip (p = 0.02) and motor performance, in the sit and stand test (p = 0.01) and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) (p = 0.01) were inferior in PD patients than the control group. Although PD patients tended to consume less AGEs than the control group, AGE intake was negatively correlated with handgrip strength in individuals with PD (r = -0.59; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: PD patients had lower strength and functional capacity, suggesting that the effects of AGEs might be exacerbated during chronic diseases like Parkinson's.
The decline in postural balance has a negative impact on the performance of functional tasks in individuals with Parkinson's Disease Natália Mariana Silva Luna, Tatiana Godoy Bobbio, Myriam de Graaf, Júlia Maria D'Andrea Greve, Rita de Cássia Ernandes, Aluane Silva Dias, Matheus Henrique dos Santos Lino, Jose Maria Soares-Junior, Edmund Chada Baracat, Luis Mochizuki, Guilherme Carlos Brech, Angelica Castilho Alonso Clinics, 2024 INTRODUCTION: An accurate assessment of balance problems is critical for decreasing the risk of falling in patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD). Reliable diagnostic tools such as Computerized Dynamic Posturography (CDP) are not feasible for the clinical setting. Therefore, the present study's aim was to assess the correlation between the clinical Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest) and CDP. METHODS: 20 male older adults with Parkinson's Disease (PD) were included in this study. Participants first executed the Sit-To-Stand (STS), Step/Quick turn (SQT), and Step Up and Over (SUO) tests on a Balance Master® force platform, followed by a clinical balance evaluation using the BESTest. RESULTS: Four outcomes of the CDP were negatively correlated with one or more BESTest domains or total BESTest score: STS sway velocity was negatively correlated with the anticipatory postural adjustment (p = 0.02) and sensory orientation (p = 0.01) domains. SQT turn time was negatively correlated with biomechanical restriction (for turns to the left, p = 0.01, and right, p = 0.03, respectively), postural response (p = 0.01, p = 0.01), dynamic balance during gait (p = 0.007, p = 0.001), and total score (p = 0.02, p = 0.01). Step over time to the right in SUP was negatively correlated with the limits of the stability domain (p = 0.002) and total BESTest score (p = 0.020). SUO impact index was negatively correlated with the anticipatory postural adjustment domain (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: This study shows that several BESTest domains are significantly correlated with CDP outcomes, demonstrating that the BESTest can be used as a more clinically feasible alternative for computerized posturography, without loss of information.
Adaptation to the driving simulator and prediction of the braking time performance, with and without distraction, in older adults and middle-aged adults Alexandra Carolina Canonica, Angelica Castilho Alonso, Guilherme Carlos Brech, Mark Peterson, Natália Mariana Silva Luna, Alexandre Leopold Busse, Wilson Jacob-Filho, Juliana Leme Rosa, Jose Maria Soares-Junior, Edmund Chada Baracat, Júlia Maria D'Andrea Greve Clinics, 2023 CONTEXT: Many studies show the importance of evaluating the adaptation time of subjects in a virtual driving environment, looking forwards to a response as closest as a possible real vehicle. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify and analyze the adaptation to the driving simulator in older adults and middle-aged adults with and without a distraction, and a secondary aim was to identify predictors of safe performance for older adults' drives. DESIGN: Male and female middle-aged adults (n = 62, age = 30.3 ± 7.1 years) and older adults (n = 102, age = 70.4 ± 5.8 years) were evaluated for braking time performance in a driving simulator; cognition performance assessment included the Mini-Mental State Examination; motor evaluation included ankle flexor muscle strength with the isokinetic dynamometer and handgrip strength; the postural balance was evaluated with Timed Up and Go test, with and without a cognitive distraction task. RESULTS: Older adults (men and women) and middle-aged adult women require more time to adapt to the driving simulator. The distractor increases the adaptation time for all groups. The main predictors of braking time for older women are age, muscle strength, and postural balance associated with distraction, and for older men, muscle strength. CONCLUSIONS: Age, sex, and distractor interfere in the adaptation of the virtual task of driving in a simulator. The evaluation model developed with multi-domains demonstrated the ability to predict which skills are related to braking time with and without the presence of the distractor.
Influence of invertor and evertor muscle fatigue on functional jump tests and postural control: A prospective cross-sectional study Gabriela Borin Castillo, Guilherme Carlos Brech, Nátalia Mariana Silva Luna, Fernanda Botta Tarallo, Jose Maria Soares-Junior, Edmund Chada Baracat, Angelica Castilho Alonso, Júlia Maria D'Andréa Greve Clinics, 2022 OBJECTIVE: Fatigue of the ankle's stabilizing muscles may influence the performance of functional activities and postural control. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of healthy young adults using functional jump tests and static posturography control under pre- and post-fatigue conditions of the ankle invertor and evertor muscles. METHODS: Thirty physically active healthy male and female (15 male and 15 female) volunteers (24.3 years) were enrolled in this prospective cross-sectional study. Participants performed tests on one day under a non-fatigued state of invertor and evertor muscles and on the second day in a fatigued state. Tests included static posturography on a force platform in a bipedal stance with eyes open and closed and in one-legged support with eyes open and functional jump tests (figure-of-8, side hop, 6-m crossover hop, and square hop). Fatigue of the ankle invertor and evertor muscles was induced using isokinetic dynamometry with 30 repetitions at 120°/s. RESULTS: Participants had an average age of 24.3 years (SD ± 2.08), the height of 1.73 m (SD ± 0.08), and a weight of 68.63 kg (SD ± 10.29). The average Body Mass Index (BMI) was 22.88 (SD ± 2.46). A decrease in performance was observed in functional activities and postural control under all conditions after the induction of muscle fatigue, except for the speed at a bipedal stance with eyes open. CONCLUSIONS: Functional jump tests are low cost and useful for clinical practice and evaluation of the effects of muscle fatigue and could be used in clinical practice.
Is 12 months enough to reach function after athletes’ ACL reconstruction: a prospective longitudinal study Ellen Cristina Rodrigues Felix, Angelica Castilho Alonso, Guilherme Carlos Brech, Tiago Lazzaretti Fernandes, Adriano Marques de Almeida, Natália Mariana Silva Luna, Jose Maria Soares-Junior, Edmund Chada Baracat, Arnaldo José Hernandez, Júlia Maria D'Andrea Greve Clinics, 2022 CONTEXT: Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury is disabling in several sports because it causes knee instability and functional deficit. Usually, surgical treatments produce the best functional outcomes, however, sometimes they are not always able to fully restore stability and function. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate postural balance, muscle strength, and functional performance of young athletes with an ACL injury before and after ACL reconstruction. DESIGN: This was a longitudinal observational prospective study. METHOD: 74 athletes, 60 men, and 14 women, aged between 16 and 45, divided into two groups: the Group-Lesion of ACL with 34 athletes (24.1 years) and the Group-Control with 40 athletes without ACL lesion (27.7 years old). All volunteers performed posturography, isokinetic dynamometry, and the Hop-Test. The ACL-Group was evaluated before and 12 months after the reconstruction and the control group was evaluated once. RESULTS: The Postoperative ACL Group presented greater limb symmetry, 0.96 (± 0.12), than the preoperative ACL Group, 0.87 (± 0.17), p < 0.01 in the Hop-Test. In the posturography, the displacement area was smaller in the postoperative ACL Group, 19.85 (± 5.74), compared to the preoperative ACL Group, 24.20 (± 8.97), p < 0.01. In isokinetic dynamometry the torque peak was greater in the postoperative ACL Group, 0.91 (± 0.14), than in the preoperative ACL Group, 0.74 (± 0.15), p < 0.01. CONCLUSION: The functional outcomes increased in ACL reconstruction athletes after 12 months, but not at the same level as in the Control Group. The result indicates an incomplete functional recovery, adaptive changes in postural control after injury, reconstruction, and return to sport.
Biomechanical evaluation in runners with Achilles tendinopathy Nathalie Ferrari Bechara Andere, Alexandre Leme Godoy, Luis Mochizuki, Marcelo Bordalo Rodrigues, Túlio Diniz Fernandes, José Maria Soares-Júnior, Angélica Castilho Alonso, Natália Mariana Silva Luna, Guilherme Carlos Brech, Júlia Maria D’Andréa Greve Clinics, 2021 OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical characteristics, ground reaction force (GRF), and function of the plantar muscles and dorsiflexors of the ankle in runners with and without Achilles tendinopathy (AT) and in non-runners. METHODS: Seventy-two participants (42 men, 30 women; mean age: 37.3±9.9 years) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study and divided into three groups: AT group (ATG, n=24), healthy runners’ group (HRG, n=24), and non-runners’ group (NRG, n=24). Both ankles were evaluated in each group. The American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot Scale was used for clinical and functional evaluation. GRF was evaluated using force plates and muscle strength was evaluated using an isokinetic dynamometer. RESULTS: The AOFAS scores were lower in the ATG. The strike impulse was higher in the ATG than in the HRG and NRG. However, GRF was similar among the groups. The ATG exhibited lower total work at 120°/s speed than the HRG. The peak torque in concentric dorsiflexion was lower in the NRG than in the ATG and HRG. The peak torque and total work in concentric plantar flexion were lower in the NRG than in the ATG. The peak torque and total work in eccentric plantar flexion were lower in the NRG than in the ATG and HRG. CONCLUSION: Runners with AT showed higher strike impulse, lower muscle strength of the plantar flexors, and higher clinical and functional damage.
Relationship of force platform with the clinical balance evaluation systems test in older adults RITA DE CÁSSIA ERNANDES, GUILHERME CARLOS BRECH, NATÁLIA MARIANA SILVA LUNA, MICHELE FIGUEIRA NUNES, JULIA MARIA D’ANDRÉA GREVE, LUIZ EUGÊNIO GARCEZ LEME, ANGÉLICA CASTILHO ALONSO Acta Ortopedica Brasileira, 2020 The aging process can alter the organization of postural control causing instability; literature shows several equipment and clinical tests whose purpose is to measure postural balance, involving different protocols and methodologies. Objective: To evaluate postural balance during the task to walk over the force platform (turn and return) and its relationship with clinic balance test (BESTest) in older adults. Methods: 60 older people of both sexes, aged 60 to 79 years, were tested in the force platform (NeuroCom Balance) and BESTest to evaluate postural balance. Results: negative correlations were found when comparing domains of the clinical test with stabilometric parameters in time and velocity variables of the tests Step/Quick turn. The highest correlations were in the total score (time spent to perform the task − 0.41, and in the velocity left side − 0.33/right side − 0.43), as well as in the stability limit (time spent to perform the task left side − 0.34/right side − 0.37, and the equilibrium velocity left side − 0.37/right side − 0.43). Conclusion: There are slim correlations between the clinical test and force platform variables, showing that each test measures different parameters. Level of evidence II, Diagnostic study - investigating a diagnostic test.
Anthropometric factors and body composition and their relationship with dynamic balance tests Brenda Aparecida da Silva Ferreira, Fernanda Antico Benetti, Natália Mariana Silva Luna, Guilherme Carlos Brech, Danilo Sales Bocalini, Laura Beatriz Mesiano Maifrino, Fernanda Magaldi, Júlia Maria D' Andrea Greve, Angélica Castilho Alonso Revista Brasileira De Medicina do Esporte, 2020
