Balint's syndrome is characterized by faulty visual scanning, dysmetria secondary to a visual perceptual deficit, and an inability to recognize more than one object at a time. We report three cases of Balint's syndrome and the individualized rehabilitation they received. One patient developed symptoms of Balint's syndrome caused by bilateral occipitoparietal infarcts. In the two other cases the symptoms arose secondary to posterior cortical atrophy, a slowly progressive dementia with alexia and agraphia. All three patients initially responded to a multicontext treatment approach with intensive verbal cueing and organizational strategies with subsequent improvement in visual recognition, reaching and scanning. Continued deterioration from posterior cortical atrophy or a second infarction resulted in worsening dementia in two patients. Cognitive remediation was required as visual perceptual rehabilitation became ineffective. Clinicians should be familiar with Balint's syndrome and its various aetiologies. Lack of awareness of this syndrome may lead to a misdiagnosis and resulting inappropriate or inadequate treatment.

Diante da pandemia do novo coronavírus (Covid-19), o profissional fisioterapeuta tem papel importante dentro do contexto que estamos vivendo. Além da excessiva e degradante jornada de trabalho imposta a eles, o que torna suas rotinas mais estressantes, torna-se indispensável a preocupação com a qualidade de vida do profissional envolvido. Frente a isso, esse estudo teve como objetivo relatar o impacto na qualidade de vida de fisioterapeutas na linha de frente à pandemia da Covid-19. Os objetivos específicos foram avaliar a qualidade do sono e correlacionar a qualidade de vida com a qualidade de sono de fisioterapeutas na linha de frente à pandemia da Covid-19. A população foi composta por fisioterapeutas do Hospital de Clínicas de Passo Fundo, Hospitalar Santa Terezinha de Erechim e Hospital de Caridade de Erechim, com uma amostra de treze fisioterapeutas, de ambos os sexos, com média de idade de 29,5 anos, que atuam na linha de frente do Covid-19 no ambulatório e UTI dos hospitais já mencionados. Como resultados alcançados, pode-se observar que ambos hospitais apresentaram uma auto-avaliação da qualidade de vida regular, com maiores escores no domínio meio ambiente (71,15%) e pior no domínio físico (48,63%). Em relação a qualidade do sono, houve uma presença de distúrbio do sono em 23,1% e qualidade do sono ruim em 76,9%. Houve uma correlação negativa e moderada entre as relações sociais com a qualidade do sono, e as demais correlações mostraram-se bem fracas. Deste modo, conclui-se através dos resultados que os profissionais fisioterapeutas que atuam na linha de frente da Covid-19 apresentaram uma qualidade de vida regular e diminuição da qualidade do sono.

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Background Kinesiotherapy is an option to mitigate worsening neuropsychomotor function due to human aging. Moreover, exergames are beneficial for the practice of physical therapy by older patients. Physical exercise interventions are known to alter the epigenome, but little is known about their association with exergames. Objective We aim to evaluate the effects of kinesiotherapy with exergaming on older women’s epigenetic marks and cognitive ability, as well as on their clinical functional variables. Our hypothesis states that this kind of therapy can elicit equal or even better outcomes than conventional therapy. Methods We will develop a virtual clinic exergame with 8 types of kinesiotherapy exercises. Afterward, we will conduct a 1:1 randomized clinical trial to compare the practice of kinesiotherapy with exergames (intervention group) against conventional kinesiotherapy (control group). A total of 24 older women will be enrolled for 1-hour sessions performed twice a week, for 6 weeks, totaling 12 sessions. We will assess outcomes using epigenetic blood tests, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test, the Timed Up and Go test, muscle strength grading in a hydraulic dynamometer, and the Game Experience Questionnaire at various stages. Results The project was funded in October 2019. Game development took place in 2020. Patient recruitment and a clinical trial are planned for 2021. Conclusions Research on this topic is likely to significantly expand the understanding of kinesiotherapy and the impact of exergames. To the best of our knowledge, this may be one of the first studies exploring epigenetic outcomes of exergaming interventions. Trial Registration Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry/Registro Brasileiro de Ensaios Clínicos (ReBEC) RBR-9tdrmw; https://ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-9tdrmw. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/32729