Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease primarily characterized by cardinal motor manifestations and CNS pathology. Current drug therap

Dysphagia (impaired swallowing) is common in patients with Parkinson disease (PD) and is related to aspiration pneumonia, the primary cause of death i

Saccadic eye movements (saccades) in primates organize the visual information about the environment into a pulsatile course. Recent studies from our laboratory have found substantial single unit activity, of extra-retinal origin, in medial temporal and inferotemporal cortex with each saccade (even in the dark). In the current experiment we studied event-related potentials to spontaneous saccades from electrodes in medial temporal cortex as well as medial septum. Significant event-related potentials were recorded in both regions (again even in the dark). These data suggest that higher-level processing itself may synchronize with saccades.

Rehabilitation prior to orthopedic surgery (prehab) has been studied with more frequency and studies have shown reduced costs and improved functional outcomes among patients who’ve undergone total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This study is to determine whether prehab improves functional outcomes and reduces costs following spinal surgery. PubMed, CINHAL via EBSCO and EMBASE via Ovid were searched with publication date restrictions from May 2006 to May 2016 for the terms ‘physical therapy’, ‘physiotherapy’, ‘prehabilitation’ or ‘prehab’, ‘spine’ or ‘spinal’, and ‘preoperative’ or ‘pre-op’. The search yielded 737 eligible articles which were screened by two independent reviewers. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) with adults who participated in preoperative exercise interventions as part of a prehab or preoperative exercise program for spinal surgery versus standard care were included. Methodology and results of the studies were critically appraised in conformity with PRISMA guidelines. Three RCTs were included, all of which analyzed outcomes of prehab following lumbar spinal surgery. Two of the articles were of high quality and three were of low quality. None of the studies demonstrated a statistically significant difference in pain scores or disability questionnaires in the intervention groups postoperatively, however, no negative effects were reported either. With neuroscience education, patient’s reported feeling prepared for surgery and expressed positive outlook regarding the intervention. Two of the studies found perioperative intervention reduced the total cost of healthcare spending associated with spinal surgery. Due to heterogeneity of the outcome measures, a meta-analysis was not possible There is lack of significant evidence looking at functional outcomes using physical therapy prior to spinal surgery. Prehab should continue to be researched prior to spinal surgery to determine effectiveness in patient outcomes. ​​​​​​​