Background: High-resolution ultrasonography (US) is a non-invasive, readily applicable imaging modality capable of depicting real-time static and dynamic information concerning the peripheral nerves and their surrounding tissues. Although electrophysiological studies are the gold standard in the evaluation of nerve injuries, US can be used also to evaluate the morphological changes of nerve injuries. Objectives: To evaluate the role of the high-resolution US in the assessment of nerve injuries and to compare it to the role of electrodiagnostic studies. Subjects and methods: A total of 30 nerves from 22 consecutive patients with clinically definite nerve injury were considered. Two independent and blinded clinicians perform electrodiagnosis and US. The clinical, neurophysiological, and US findings were collected, and the contribution of US was then classified as " contributive" or "non-contributive", according to whether US confirmed the clinical and neurophysiological diagnosis or not. Results: US was "contributive" (confirming the electrophysiological diagnosis) in 66.67% of cases (n = 20), providing information about continuity of the nerve, morphological changes after injury as swelling, scar tissue formation, or neuroma formation with sensitivity of 75% compared to the electrodiagnostic studies and accuracy of 66.67%. Conclusion: Ultrasound can be used, when available, as a complementary tool for electrodiagnostic studies to provide anatomical information about the injured nerves in case of complete axonal lesion.

Background: Approximately half of stroke patients show impaired upper limb and hand function. Task-oriented training focuses on functional tasks, while joint mobilization technique aims to restore the accessory movements of the joints. Objective: To investigate the effect of adding joint mobilization to task-oriented training to help the patients in reaching a satisfactory level of recovery for their hand function. Patients and methods: Thirty chronic stroke patients with paretic hand participated in the study; they were divided equally into study and control groups. The study group received joint mobilization followed by taskoriented training for the affected hand. Meanwhile, the control group received task-oriented training only. Both groups received their treatment in the form of 3 sessions per week for 6 successive weeks. The primary outcome measures were hand function that was assessed by Jebsen-Taylor hand function test (JTT) and active and passive wrist extension range of motion (ROM) that was measured by a standard goniometer. The secondary outcome measure was the grip strength of the hand that was assessed by a JAMAR adjustable hand dynamometer. Results: There was a significant improvement in all the outcome measurements in both groups that were more evident in the study group. Conclusion: Combining joint mobilization with task-oriented training had a highly significant effect in improving the hand function in chronic stroke patients compared to task-oriented training alone.

Objectives This study investigated the association between the pre-miRNA146a C>G rs2910164 polymorphism and serum TNF-α in Egyptian patients with IS. Methods A case-control study was conducted on 75 Egyptian cases with IS and 75 sex-matched control subjects aged 57–65 years. Genomic DNA analysis of pre-miRNA146a and TNF-α measurement was performed with real-time PCR and ELISA, respectively. Results There was a statistically significant difference between cases of ischemic stroke (IS) and control subjects in pre-miRNA146a rs2910164 GG genotype (p=0.017) and G allele (p=0.005). The pre-miRNA146a rs2910164 is significantly associated with large artery atherosclerosis [LAA] in GG genotypes (p=0.019) and G alleles (p=0.004) compared to control subjects. There was a highly statistically significant increase in TNF-α levels (p<0.001) in IS compared to the control group. There was also a statistically significant increase in TNF-α levels (p=0.001) in GG genotypes in IS. Conclusions Our results showed that there was a statistically significant association between pre-miRNA146a rs2910164 GG genotype and susceptibility to IS and LAA. In addition, there was a statistically significant association between pre-miRNA146a rs2910164 GG genotype and TNF-α in IS subjects.

Background: Balance problems are very common with neuropathic patients following burn. Objective: To investigate the effect of selected physical therapy program on balance of neuropathic patients following burn. Methods: A randomized controlled study was conducted on fifty male patients (age range from 35 to 45 years) with polyneuropathy following burn injury of lower limb mainly at sole of the foot, 3 rd degree injury, axonotemesis with burn extent 30%. Patients were selected from outpatient clinic, Faculty of physical therapy and Kasr AL Ainy hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University. The study was held during period between June 2017 to April 2018. The balance of patients was assessed before & after treatment by Biodex balances system & Berg Balance Scale. Patients were assigned randomly into two equal groups: Group A (study group) that received selected physical therapy program for balance training including (Stretching, Resistive and Balance exercises) and group B (control group) that received balance exercises only. Results: showed significant improvement in balance in favor to group A. Significant decrease in the balance indices and significant increase in BBS (Berg balance scale) scores were recorded after treatment in both study and control groups with better improvement of group A. Conclusion: On basis of the present data, it is possible to conclude that selected physical therapy program including (Stretching, Resistive and Balance exercises) is more effective for improving balance of neuropathic patients following burn than using balance exercises only.