Evaluation of Commercial Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibody Assays in seropositive subjects

The virus neutralization test (VNT) is the reference for the assessment of the functional ability of neutralizing antibodies (NAb) to block SARS-CoV-2 entry into cells. New competitive immunoassays measuring antibodies preventing interaction between the spike protein and its cellular receptor are proposed as surrogate VNT (sVNT). We tested three commercial sVNT (a qualitative immunochromatographic test and two quantitative immunoassays named YHLO and TECO) together with a conventional anti-spike IgG assay (bioMerieux) in comparison with an in-house plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT50) using the original 19A strain and different variants of concern (VOC), on a panel of 306 sera from naturally-infected or vaccinated patients. The qualitative test was rapidly discarded because of poor sensitivity and specificity. Areas under the curve of YHLO and TECO assays were, respectively, 85.83 and 84.07 (p-value >0.05) using a positivity threshold of 20 for PRNT50, and 95.63 and 90.35 (p-value =0.02) using a threshold of 80. However, the performances of YHLO and bioMerieux were very close for both thresholds, demonstrating the absence of added value of sVNT compared to a conventional assay for the evaluation of the presence of NAb in seropositive subjects. In addition, the PRNT50 assay showed a reduction of NAb titers towards different VOC in comparison to the 19A strain that could not be appreciated by the commercial tests. Despite the good correlation between the anti-spike antibody titer and the titer of NAb by PRNT50, our results highlight the difficulty to distinguish true NAb among the anti-RBD antibodies with commercial user-friendly immunoassays.

Pain Characteristics Among Individuals with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy According to Their Clinical Stage

Background: Assessment of pain is not routine, standardized, or well-understood in individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), even though pain is a common problem reported by more than half of DMD patients. Previous studies in this area included multiple neuromuscular diseases with highly variable phenotypes. Therefore, our aim was to focus on DMD specifically and evaluate comprehensive pain characteristics according to the disease stages, from ambulatory to late non-ambulatory. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in an out-patient pediatric rehabilitation clinic. Participants were 148 males with confirmed DMD, 14.5±5.3 years of age. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire regarding pain frequency, duration, intensity, location, aggravating/relieving factors, pain interference (Brief Pain Inventory), pain quality (PainDETECT Questionnaire), and functional ability (DMD Functional Ability Self-Assessment Tool). Pain characteristics were analyzed according to the clinical stage: ambulatory (Amb), early non-ambulatory (ENA), and late non-ambulatory (LNA).Results: Of the 148 participants who completed the assessment, 66 (44.6%) reported pain during the previous 4 weeks. There were no differences in the pain duration or intensity among the three groups. Pain location (Amb: calf, ENA: knee, LNA: lumbosacral region), aggravating factor (Amb: ambulation, ENA: transfer, LNA: sitting), and relieving factor (Amb: rest and massage, ENA and LNA: positional change) differed according to the clinical stage. Individuals in the LNA stage reported an increase in the frequency of pain and number of pain sites. The effect of pain on mood was also found to be greater in the LNA group than in the other clinical stages. Conclusion: Pain characteristics including location, aggravating/relieving factors, pain frequency, and pain interference change as the disease progresses in patients with DMD. Clinicians could more efficiently and critically assess and manage the patients’ pain aspect, based on these findings.

LITTLE GAME, BIG GAIN: AN ACTIVITY BASED INTERVENTIONAL PROGRAM TO ENHANCE PSYCHOMOTOR FUNCTIONAL ABILITY IN CHILDREN WITH DCD

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is considered as a disorder of children where they are unable to perform various skills which need fine motor coordination.Every child identified to have DCD shouldbe given interventions.This could be possible by simple games which makes them confident and moreover helps in improving their motor performance.Various interventional therapies have been identified to deal with the issue.

Effectiveness of Closed Kinetic Chain Exercise on Increasing Functional Strength in Knee Osteoarthritis Patients

Introduction: The prevalence of osteoarthritis increases with age with functional impairment. With Closed Kinetic Chain Exercise (CKCE) patients are able to increase movement in the knee area. Objective: To provide an overview of various evidence from previous studies regarding the effectiveness of Closed Kinetic Chain Exercise in improving functional ability in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: Conducted a literature review by searching through electronic databases namely Garuda, Pubmed, and Google Scholar, and obtained 5 relevant research articles from 2016-2021 based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: After being given closed kinetic chain exercise, it was found that there was a decrease in complaints such as pain and an increase in the strength of functional movement in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Conclusion: closed kinetic chain exercise is effective in improving functional ability in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Features of walking in patients with knee arthrosis before and after arthroplasty according to the GAITRite system

Background. Hardware examinations are the key to standardizing the assessment of the patient’s condition, they reduce the doctor’s error, make it possible to obtain digital material, which can be used to determine the functional ability of the patient. One of such studies is the GAITRite system, the purpose of which is to assess the parameters of a person’s walking. The study was aimed to determine the basic parameters of walking in patients with gonarthrosis before and after the endoprosthesis. Materials and methods. There were examined 23 patients with gonarthrosis after unilateral endoprosthesis. The studies carried out concern the analysis of temporal, geometric parameters of walking, as well as the assessment of the functional ability of patients with degenerative diseases of the hip joint before treatment and one year after arthroplasty. Results. Before treatment for knee arthrosis, patients experience a violation of walking in the form of asymmetry of steps. There is a decrease in the time of support on the foot of the impaired limb and, therefore, an increase in the time of transfer of the foot of this limb. Changes in the impaired limb are reflected in the opposite one. After surgery, the changes in the parameters of walking in patients were as follows: an increase in the time of support on the prosthetic limb, and, therefore, a decrease in the time of support on the foot of the opposite limb that manifested in an increase in the symmetry of the parameters of steps. Reduction of pain syndrome and restoration of limb support ability increase the indicator of gait functionality. Osteoarthritis is a systemic disease and develops more often in both knee joints, and other structures of the skeleton are often involved in the degenerative process. Therefore, in elderly patients, FAP after arthroplasty reaches only satisfactory values. We examined patients after endoprosthesis on one knee joint, and this does not always give the expected good result immediately. Conclusions. Instrumental methods of studying patients’ gait make it possible to determine the degree of impairment of dynamics. Knee arthroplasty eliminates pain and restores limb resistance, which improves gait. This method of assessing walking allows determining the degree of recovery of patients and to adjust the need for further methods of correcting walking or a plan for further treatment.

Gambaran Peningkatan Kemampuan Fungsional Pada Penderita Osteoarthritis Lutut Setelah Diberikan Kinesiotaping : Literature Review

Osteoarthritis of knee is a musculoskeletal disorder caused by inflammation of the knee joint. Inflammation in patients with knee osteoarthritis causes functional disabilitu which affects the patient’s quality of life. Knee osteoarthritis rehabilitation method using kinesiotaping aims to improve functional ability. The study aimed to describe the improvement in functional ability in patients with knee osteoarthritis after giving kinesiotaping. The selection of articles in this study used the PICO mnemonic. Articles were searched throught Google scholar and PT journal. The selection of articles were used inclusion and exclusion criteria. The result show that there was an increase in functional ability in knee osteoarthritis patien giving kinesiotaping. The average of functional ability decrease pretest 55,0 post test 34,5 and degression 18,6. There is an increase in functional ability after giving kinesiotaping in knee osteoarthritis patients. Kinesiotaping can be used as an alternative modality intervention in osteoarthritis pa-tient who experienced decrease in functional ability knee.Keywords: Knee osteoarthritis; kinesiotaping; WOMAC AbstrakOsteoarthritis pada lutut merupakan gangguan muskuloskeletal yang disebabkan adanya peradangan pada sendi lutut. Peradangan pada pasien osteoarthritis lutut menyebabkan gangguan ketidakmampuan fungsional yang berpengaruh menurunnya kualitas hidup pasien. Metode re-habilitasi osteoarthritis lutut menggunakan kinesiotaping bertujuan untuk peningkatan kemampuan fungsional. Penelitian literature review ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui gambaran peningkatan kemampuan fungsional pada penderita osteoarthritis lutut setelah diberikan kinesiotaping. Pemilihan artikel pada penelitian ini menggunakan mnemonic PICO. Penulisan artikel ini menggunakan penelusuran literature melalui Google scholar dan PTjournal. Pemilihan artikel menggunakan kriteria inklusi dan kriteria eksklusi. Hasil literature review 5 artikel menunjukan bahwa terdapat peningkatan kemampuan fungsional pada pasien osteoarthritis lutut setelah diberikan kinesiotaping dengan rata-rata pretest 55,0 post test 34,5 dan penurunan 18,6. Terdapat peningkatan kemampuan fungsional setelah diberikan Kinesiotaping pada pasien osteoarthritis lutut. Sebagai dasar tindakan dalam melakukan management fisioterapi pada masalah penurunan kemampuan fungsional pada pasien osteoarthritis lutut, fisioterapi dapat melakukan penanganan dengan menggunakan modalitas Kinesiotaping.Keywords:; Kinesiotaping; osteoarthritis lutut; womac

Measurement Invariance of a Latent Dementia Index by Gender in the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study

Population-based aging studies allow researchers to study dementia and its correlates. Few include dementia diagnoses. Latent variable models have been used to create latent dementia indexes (LDI) using cognitive and functional ability to approximate dementia. The LDI is applied across diverse populations, but it is unclear whether gender affects its measurement properties. We assess whether the LDI can be used to measure dementia equivalently for men and women. We use the 2001-2003 Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (n=856, 355 men, 501 women). Cognitive ability was assessed using memory, executive function, attention, spatial ability, orientation, and language tasks. Functional ability was informant-reported. We used confirmatory factor analysis to test factorial invariance across gender and compare latent means to determine which group had lower means, consistent with greater dementia likelihood. Model fitting results suggest metric invariance of the LDI but only partial scalar invariance across gender. Latent mean differences in the LDI were observed (Mdiff = .39, SE = 0.19, p = .042), with women lower, on average, than men. Correlations between LDI and dementia diagnosis were stronger for both men (r=-.82) and women (r=-.85) than correlations between dementia and Mini-Mental Status Exam scores (-.69 and -.73, respectively). The LDI may be reliably and validly used to measure and compare dementia likelihood in men and women. Results suggest lower LDI scores in women, indicating greater dementia likelihood. Gender differences may be partially attributed to differences in measurement properties of items, possibly due to gender differences in educational returns and employment factors.