This study deals with the use of a robot-assisted body-weight-supported treadmill training in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with gait dysfunction. Twenty MS patients (10 men and 10 women) of the mean of 46.3 ± 8.5 years were assigned to a six-week-long training period with the use of robot-assisted treadmill training of increasing intensity of the Lokomat type. The outcome measure consisted of the difference in motion-dependent torque of lower extremity joint muscles after training compared with baseline before training. We found that the training uniformly and significantly augmented the torque of both extensors and flexors of the hip and knee joints. The muscle power in the lower limbs of SM patients was improved, leading to corrective changes of disordered walking movements, which enabled the patients to walk with less effort and less assistance of care givers. The torque augmentation could have its role in affecting the function of the lower extremity muscle groups during walking. The results of this pilot study suggest that the robot-assisted body-weight-supported treadmill training may be a potential adjunct measure in the rehabilitation paradigm of 'gait reeducation' in peripheral neuropathies.

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One of the most common injuries of the knee joint is a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Most authors believe that early rehabilitation of patients after ACL reconstruction promotes better treatment outcomes. Less is known about the influence of the time that passes from injury to surgical reconstruction. Therefore, the goal of this study was to assess the dependence of treatment outcomes of ACL on injury-to-reconstruction and reconstruction-to-rehabilitation time lags. The study included 30 patients of the mean age 34 ± 7 years with trauma-related rupture of ACL and its surgical reconstruction. The time range from ligament rupture to its reconstruction was 120-180 days and from reconstruction to rehabilitation was 1-120 days. Postsurgical rehabilitation outcomes were assessed with the Lysholm knee scale and the IKDC 2000 subjective knee evaluation form. The scales were applied before and after rehabilitation. We found distinct improvements in all physical symptoms in the damaged knee joint, regardless of the time elapsed from trauma to ACL reconstruction and from ACL reconstruction to rehabilitation. The beneficial outcomes of rehabilitation were significantly inversely associated with the time elapsing from reconstruction to rehabilitation commencement but failed to depend on the time from ACL rupture to reconstruction. We conclude that rehabilitation should start as early as possible after ACL reconstruction to optimize the beneficial outcomes in terms of functional physical recovery, whereas the injury-to-reconstruction delay is less meaningful to this end.

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The aim of this work was to assess knowledge of and to identify awareness in second-year students of biology, biotechnology and tourism and recreation, regarding the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in food. The analysis of obtained results shows that about 98% of respondents know the concept of GMO and highly appreciate their knowledge of this topic. The main source of knowledge about GMO for the students is the Internet and the University. It is worth noting that 59% of respondents are aware of the use of GMO in food, while more than half do not know how the GMO in food should be labeled. In particular, students of biotechnology showed a distinctive knowledge about GMO. Over half of students of the Jan Kochanowski University in the fields of biology, biotechnology, and tourism and recreation (55%) recognized that the use of GMO poses a threat to human health.