A Conceptual Overview of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in Rehabilitation Research.
A conceptual overview of structural equation modeling (SEM) in rehabilitation research.
Work. 2013 Apr 17;
Merchant WR, Li J, Karpinski AC, Rumrill Jr PD
Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is a collection of statistical techniques used to determine the degree to which a proposed theoretical model is supported by data. SEM has been growing in various disciplines as well as in rehabilitation research. It is the goal of this introduction to provide a conceptual overview of SEM. This statistical technique can facilitate a better understanding of large data sets involving theoretical models that have become more frequent in this discipline. HubMed – rehab
Writing a case report for the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine.
Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2013 Apr 18;
Ozçakar L, Franchignoni F, Frontera W, Negrini S
Case reports (CR) have led to the description and discovery of new diseases, syndromes, therapeutic complications or side-effects, and previously unknown potential benefits of pharmacologic agents. CRs may also be used as an effective training strategy for novice authors to develop the skills needed for medical writing. Yet, too often, CRs do not follow standards for excellence in scientific writing. Therefore, in this article, the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AJPMR) and the European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (EJPRM) collaborate with the purpose of providing guidance to authors in selecting CRs that might be appropriate for publication. In addition, we discuss different aspects of the preparation of a well-written CR in accordance with the mission and editorial views of both journals. HubMed – rehab
Leptin?s effect on accelerated fracture healing after traumatic brain injury.
Neurol Res. 2013 Apr 16;
Yan H, Zhang HW, Fu P, Liu BL, Jin WZ, Duan SB, Xue J, Liu K, Sun ZM, Zeng XW
OBJECTIVE: To investigate mechanisms behind the faster rehabilitation of limb fractures when associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: New Zealand rabbits were divided into TBI group and sham-operation group for four studies as follows: (1) blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were drawn on days 1, 3, and 7 to demonstrate changes in serum leptin, growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF?1), and CSF leptin; (2) bone defection was created by drilling in the tibial bone and either leptin or normal saline was injected into rabbit?s cerebellomedullary cistern. X?ray was taken at 1 days, 2 weeks, and 5 weeks and evaluated by criteria to determine rate of bone healing; (3) FITC?labeled rabbit leptin was injected into TBI and sham-operation groups, and frozen sections of rabbit brain were observed to identify differences in central nervous system (CNS) leptin by fluorescence; (4) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to evaluate the expression of leptin production by brain tissue. RESULTS: Serum and CSF leptin, GH, and IGF?1 concentrations were found to be higher in the TBI group than the sham-operation group at days 1, 3, and 7 (P<0.05). CSF leptin of the TBI group was positively correlated with serum leptin on day 1 (P<0.05), and positively correlated with GH and IGF?1 on days 3 and 7 (P<0.05). X?ray criteria demonstrated that leptin administration caused significantly faster healing calluses at 3 and 5 weeks as compared to control animals (P<0.05). FITC?labeled leptin study demonstrated that TBI animals had stronger expression of leptin in the brain than sham-operated animals. However, PCR of brain tissue leptin showed no significant differences between TBI and sham?operated animals in the expression of leptin. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that increased CSF leptin, likely from blood?brain barrier breakdown, combined with elevated serum GH and IGF-1 after TBI, leads to accelerated fracture healing. HubMed – rehab