Francesca GimiglianoUniversità degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" · of Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine
Francesca Gimigliano
MD, PhD
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Publications (227)
Magnesium (Mg) is a vital element for various metabolic and physiological functions in the human body, including its crucial role in skeletal muscle health. Hypomagnesaemia is frequently reported in many muscle diseases, and it also seems to contribute to the pathogenesis of skeletal muscle impairment in patients with neuromuscular diseases. The ai...
Background: Over one billion people worldwide suffer from neurological conditions that cause mobility impairments, often persisting despite rehabilitation. Chronic neurological disease (CND) patients who lack access to continuous rehabilitation face gradual functional decline. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health...
Background
The International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine—ISPRM—is the pre-eminent scientific and educational society for medical specialists in rehabilitation. Its mission is to optimize functioning and health-related quality of life and minimize disability in persons with medical problems. The World Congress remains the society...
Throughout 2023, Cochrane Rehabilitation’s primary focus was on the Fifth Cochrane Rehabilitation Methodological Meeting, aiming to improve the current state of evidence in rehabilitation, enhancing comprehension of evidence production and synthesis for practical application, and exploring various study designs. Ongoing projects were advanced, such...
Background
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease that primarily affects young adults and causes disability by impairing the central nervous system. Gait impairments are common in people with MS (pwMS), and lower limb orthoses are often used to improve stability and mobility. However, compliance with orthotic devices can vary among individual...
Musculoskeletal disorders are characterized by several impairments, including pain, affecting muscles, bones, joints and adjacent connective tissue, resulting in temporary or permanent functional limitations and disability. Musculoskeletal pain is particularly prevalent worldwide and greatly impacts the quality of life, social participation and eco...
Objective
To evaluate the qualitative and quantitative alterations of bone tissue in patients with early-stage Parkinson’s disease (PD) and to measure the associations between bone mineral density (BMD), trabecular bone score (TBS) and physical performance.
Methods
This case–control study enrolled patients with early-stage PD and age-matched contr...
Background and Objectives. This overview of Cochrane systematic reviews (CSRs) reports on current evidence on the effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions for persons with upper limb fractures (ULFs), and the quality of the evidence. Materials and Methods. Following the inclusion criteria defined by the World Health Organization, all CSRs tagg...
Objective: To examine the functioning profile of people with neurological disorders who access rehabilitation services through ClinFIT Generic-30. Methods: The functioning profile of people with neurological disorders accessing rehabilitation services was examined using the ClinFIT Generic-30, and the results compared with existing core set (neurol...
We are proud to announce the starting of the research project "AID2GAIT: Biofeedback based system to enhance robotic assisted gait training in children with cerebral palsy". It has the main aim to develop a biofeedback system, integrating the estimation of the level of engagement of the children affect by cerebral palsy during robotic assisted gait...
In May 2023, the historic Resolution on Strengthening Rehabilitation in Health Systems was adopted unanimously by the 194 Member States of the World Health Assembly (WHA), the highest health policy-setting body. The resolution aims to scale up and integrate rehabilitation into health systems as part of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to address the...
Pain is an underestimated finding in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). We provide a characterization of pain in terms of functional implications through a multidimensional assessment in patients with DM1, focusing on gender differences. We assessed pain through the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and its indexes (the Severity Index (SI) and the Interfere...
Bone fragility is the susceptibility to fracture due to poor bone strength. This condition is usually associated with aging, comorbidities, disability, poor quality of life, and increased mortality. International guidelines for the management of patients with bone fragility include a nutritional approach, mainly aiming at optimal protein, calcium,...
Background:
Balance impairment is a common disability in post-stroke survivors, leading to reduced mobility and increased fall risk. Robotic gait training (RAGT) is largely used, along with traditional training. There is, however, no strong evidence about RAGT superiority, especially on balance. This study aims to determine RAGT efficacy on balanc...
Beyond brain deficits caused by strokes, the effectiveness of neurorehabilitation is strongly influenced by the baseline clinical features of stroke patients, including a patient’s current nutritional status. Malnutrition, either as a pre-stroke existing condition or occurring because of ischemic injury, predisposes patients to poor rehabilitation...
Background:
Robotic therapy (RT) has been internationally recognized for the motor rehabilitation of the upper limb. Although it seems that RT can stimulate and promote neuroplasticity, the effectiveness of robotics in restoring cognitive deficits has been considered only in a few recent studies.
Objective:
To verify whether, in the current stat...
Background:
Robot-assisted arm therapy (RAT) has been used mainly in stroke rehabilitation in the last 20 years with rising expectations and growing evidence summarized in systematic reviews (SRs).
Objective:
The aim of this study is to provide an overview of SRs about the effectiveness, within the ICF domains, and safety of RAT in the rehabilit...
Background:
The use of robotic technologies in pediatric rehabilitation has seen a large increase, but with a lack of a comprehensive framework about their effectiveness.
Objective:
An Italian Consensus Conference has been promoted to develop recommendations on these technologies: definitions and classification criteria of devices, indications a...
Background:
Many robots are available for gait rehabilitation (BWSTRT and ORET) and their application in persons with SCI allowed an improvement of walking function.
Objective:
The aim of the study is to compare the effects of different robotic exoskeletons gait training in persons with different SCI level and severity.
Methods:
Sixty-two stud...
Background:
The recovery of walking after stroke is a priority goal for recovering autonomy. In the last years robotic systems employed for Robotic Assisted Gait Training (RAGT) were developed. However, literature and clinical practice did not offer standardized RAGT protocol or pattern of evaluation scales.
Objective:
This systematic review aim...
Bone fragility is the susceptibility to fracture even for common loads because
of structural, architectural, or material alterations of bone tissue that result in poor bone
strength. In osteoporosis, quantitative and qualitative changes in density, geometry, and
micro-architecture modify the internal stress state predisposing to fragility fractu...
Background
Osteosarcopenia has been defined as the concomitance of low bone density (osteopenia/osteoporosis) and sarcopenia. Osteoporosis is characterized by alterations in bone microarchitecture and decrease of bone mineral density (BMD), whereas sarcopenia is the progressive decrease of both muscle mass and function that increase the risk of fal...
Objective
To investigate the correlations between clinical, functional, and radiological outcomes in inpatients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Methods
In this observational study, we recruited inpatients affected by moderate COVID-19 disease. The clinical evaluation comprised the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS), numerical rating s...
Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) and fibromyalgia (FM) are underestimated painful mus-culoskeletal conditions that could impact function and quality of life. A consensus about the most appropriate therapeutic approach is still not reached. Considering the long course of the diseases, prolonged assumption of drugs, such as NSAIDs and pain killers, cou...
Background:
This review examined the effectiveness of behavioral interventions for adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) triggered by physical injury or medical trauma. It discusses implications in support of rehabilitation management for COVID-19 survivors diagnosed with PTSD.
Methods:
This study adhered to the Preferred Reporting I...
Introduction:
Bone loss is a major issue in patients affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare musculoskeletal disorder, particularly in those treated with glucocorticoids (GCs). We aimed to assess the effectiveness of neridronate in terms of bone mineral density (BMD) changes in this population.
Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed...
Background:
Osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs) are often followed by chronic back pain which may have a nociceptive, neuropathic, or mixed component. However, literature on this topic is lacking.
Objective:
The objective of this cross-sectional study is to characterize the neuropathic component of chronic back pain in patients with OVFs.
M...
Background:
Gait impairments are common disabling symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Among the approaches for gait rehabilitation, interest in robotic devices has grown in recent years. However, the effectiveness compared to other interventions, the optimum amount of training, the type of device, and which patients might benefit most remains un...
Metabolic bone disorders are one of the most frequent extra-intestinal manifestations in
patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) that might result in an increase of skeletal fragility and risk of fracture. These disorders are a consequence of bone–gut crosstalk alterations, particularly due to inflammation, which involves the RANK-RANKL-Ost...
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is an umbrella term covering different clinical scenarios. It is a rare condition characterized by regional persisting pain, disproportionate to its underlying cause, usually coupled with sensorimotor, vasomotor, sudomotor, and trophic abnormalities. Different forms of CRPS have been identified: CRPS type I (al...
Upper extremities limitation is a common functional impairment in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS). Novel technological devices are increasingly used in neurorehabilitation to support motor function improvement and the quantitative assessment of motor performance during training in patients with neurological diseases. In this review, we syst...
In the last two decades, a growing interest has been focused on gait and balance robot-assisted rehabilitation in children with neurological disabilities. Robotic devices allow the implementation of intensive, task-specific training fostering functional recovery and neuroplasticity phenomena. However, limited attention has been paid to the protocol...
The upper extremities limitation represents one of the essential functional impairments in patients with cervical spinal cord injury. Electromechanics assisted devices and robots are increasingly used in neurorehabilitation to help functional improvement in patients with neurological diseases. This review aimed to systematically report the evidence...
Nel corso degli ultimi anni, l'implementazione nella pratica riabilitativa di dispositivi robot-assistiti per la rieducazione dell'arto superiore si è progressivamente consolidata. Tale tecnologia si è proposta come strumento in grado di erogare una pratica intensa e ripetitiva di gesti motori funzionali o meno dell'arto superiore, in un ambiente t...
Early osteoarthritis (EOA) still represents a challenge for clinicians. Although there is no
consensus on its definition and diagnosis, a prompt therapeutic intervention in the early stages can have
a significant impact on function and quality of life. Exercise remains a core treatment for EOA; however,
several physical modalities are commonly used...
Background and Objectives: Sport-related musculoskeletal injuries (MSK-Is) are a common health issue in athletes that can lead to reduced performance. The aim of this scoping review was to synthetize available evidence on injury incidence rates (IIRs), types, and sites that affect the musculoskeletal (MSK) system of adult athletes. Materials and Me...
Introduction
Health systems worldwide are challenged to address the health-care needs of persons with COVID-19. After the immediate need to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and scale up relevant health-care capacities, one major challenge has emerged – scaling up rehabilitation to address the functioning limitations experienced by COVID-19 patients/...
Muscle injuries occur frequently in athletes, accounting for more than one-third of sport-related trauma. Athletes most affected by these injuries are those practicing football and track and field, with hamstrings and gastrocnemius-soleus as the mainly involved sites. Muscle injuries lead to loss of competitions, long recovery times and risk of re-...
Background:
Mental practice, which is proposed for the rehabilitative training of people post-stroke, is a training method based on the repetition of the internal representation of a movement or a task with the aim of improving the performance.
Objective:
The aim of this commentary is to discuss Cochrane evidence on the efficacy of mental practi...
Complex regional pain syndrome type I (CRPS I)-or algodystrophy-is a rare disease that usually occurs after a traumatic event. It is characterized by typical clinical findings such as severe and disabling pain disproportionate to the injury, functional limitations, as well as sensory and vasomotor alterations. However, some people do not report any...
Introduction:
There is growing evidence on the efficacy of gait robotic rehabilitation in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), but most of the studies have focused on gait parameters. Moreover, clear indications on the clinical use of robotics still lack. As part of the CICERONE Italian Consensus on Robotic Rehabilitation, the aim of this system...
Background:
In patients with Parkinson disease (PD), severe postural and gait impairments are rarely observed in early stage of disease and non-motor symptoms (NMS) are often overlooked.
Objective:
This observational study aimed to characterize the impact of non-motor impairments on walking kinematics in early stages PD patients, and to assess t...
Introduction:
Fractures have been identified as one of the 20 major health conditions for the World Health Organization's (WHO) Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation (PIR) - that includes also the needs of children and youth. The identification of existing interventions for rehabilitation and related evidence is a crucial step along the deve...
Background:
Robot-assisted Arm Therapy (RAT) has been increasingly applied in the last years for promoting functional recovery in patients with disabilities related to neurological health conditions. Evidence of a knowledge-to-action gap for applying robot-assisted technologies in the rehabilitation of patients with neurological health conditions...
Background: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are leading causes of mortality. These conditions are also known as
chronic diseases of long duration and generally slow progression. Physical activity (PA) is a main factor to delay
symptoms and consequences of NCDs. In last decades, reduced physical exercise has been observed across all ages.
Despite e...
INTRODUCTION: Stroke is the third leading cause of adult disability worldwide, and lower extremity motor impairment is one of the major determinants of long-term disability. Although robotic therapy is becoming more and more utilized in research protocols for lower limb stroke rehabilitation, the gap between research evidence and its use in clinica...
Introduction:
The rapid development of electromechanical and robotic devices has profoundly influenced neurorehabilitation. Growth in the scientific and technological aspects thereof is crucial for increasing the number of newly developed devices, and clinicians have welcomed such growth with enthusiasm. Nevertheless, improving the standard for th...
Background:
Familial amyloid polyneuropathies (FAPs) are a group of rare autosomal dominant transmitted disorders that can progressive lead to disability from neuropathy, autonomic failure and other system involvement.
Objective:
The aim of this commentary is to discuss Cochrane evidence on the efficacy and safety of disease-modifying drugs (DMD...
Introduction: In rehabilitation practice, the term “feedback” is often improperly used, with augmented feedback and biofeedback frequently confused, especially when referring to the human-machine interaction during technologically assisted training. The absence of a clear differentiation among these categories represents an unmet need in rehabilita...
During its fourth year of existence, Cochrane Rehabilitation went on to promote evidence-informed health decision-making in rehabilitation. In 2020, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has made it necessary to alter priorities. In these challenging times, Cochrane Rehabilitation has firstly changed its internal organisation and established a new...
Introduction:
Postural instability is a cardinal feature of Parkinson's disease, together with rest tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia. It is a highly disabling symptom that becomes increasingly common with disease progression and represents a major source of reduced quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease. Rehabilitation aims to enabl...
The aim of this scoping review was to summarise current knowledge about the effects of bone anabolic drugs on periodontitis, in order to identify new therapeutic strategies for preventing disease progression and reducing tooth loss. A technical expert panel (TEP) was established of 11 medical specialists, including periodontists and bone specialist...
Background: Several pharmacological therapeutic approaches have been proposed to
manage osteoarthritis (OA), including intra-articular (IA) injections. Although the discovery of
clodronate, a bisphosphonate, dates back to the 1960s and the effects of its IA administration have
been investigated for decades in animal models, mechanisms of action of...
Background:
People affected by osteoporosis and fragility fractures often report disability and poor health-related quality of life. Albeit rehabilitation has a crucial role in older people, post-menopausal women and other subjects with high risk of fragility fractures, the rehabilitation perspective has been poorly investigated in the available g...
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.
Complex regional pain syndrome type I (CRPS-I) is a rare condition with huge variability in
triggering factors and clinical scenarios. The complexity of the pathophysiology of this condition fosters the proposal of several therapeutic options with different mechanisms of action in both research and clinical practice. An interdisciplinary and multim...
The outbreak of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 has spread worldwide with a huge impact on the healthcare system. Compared to the previous coronaviruses-related pandemics, COVID-19 is more transmissible with potential systemic involvement and peculiar neurological manifestations, such as Guillan-Barrè syndrome up to critical illness myopathy, occurri...
Introduction:
In recent years, robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) has been proposed as therapy for balance and gait dysfunctions in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Through this systematic review, we aimed to discuss the impact of RAGT on balance and gait outcomes. Furthermore, characteristics of the training in terms of robots used, partic...
Introduction:
Upper limb motor impairment is one of the most frequent stroke consequences. Robot therapy may represent a valid option for upper limb stroke rehabilitation, but there are still gaps between research evidences and their use in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to determine the quality, scope, and consistency of guidelines...
The International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM) has recently started an educational initiative named “ISPRM Webinar Series,” broadcasting a series of live interactive online webinar sessions over 3 months. The objectives of the webinars were to connect rehabilitation professionals worldwide, share experiences/expertise, an...
Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting upper and lower motor neurons. The current practice of caring for patients affected by ALS involves a multidisciplinary team without any indication about oral health care.
Objective: We sought to investigate the functional status and oral health in...
Background: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are leading causes of mortality. These conditions are also known as chronic diseases of long duration and generally slow progression. Physical activity is a main factor to delay symptoms and consequences of NCDs. In last decades, reduced physical exercise has been observed across all ages. Despite educat...
Management of COVID-19 post-acute syndrome is an emerging health issue in rehabilitation. This article aims to present a proposal, based on the principles of clinical governance, health management and information technology (IT), and to respond to the need for a structured organization model for post-acute COVID-19 rehabilitation. The authors prese...
Background
The identification of existing rehabilitation interventions and related evidence represents a crucial step along the development of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation (PIR). The methods for such identification have been developed by the WHO Rehabilitation Programme and Cochrane Rehabilitatio...
Breast cancer fatigue (BCF) is a complex and multidimensional condition characterized
by a persistent sense of physical and/or mental stiffness, resulting in a substantial
impairment of health-related quality of life in breast cancer survivors. Aim of this
prospective cohort study was to evaluate the feasibility and the effectiveness of a 4-week
re...
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) has been declared a global public health emergency. The demand for services has altered the organization
of medical services resulting in significant changes that have altered dramatically the education of residents in various medical specialties
including physical and rehabilitation medicine. In this rapid commu...
Osteoporosis represents an important issue for men with a growing burden for public health system. About 40% of new osteoporotic fractures occur in men with more severe consequences in comparison with women. Indeed, disability and mortality as results from hip fractures are significantly higher in men than those reported in women, due to a higher c...
After the global spread of a severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by a coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), factors that influence viral diffusion have gained great attention. Human-to-human transmission mainly occurs through droplets, but viral RNA clearance in different biological fluids in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains unclear. We aimed t...
This article was accidentally published in Volume 54 issue 5 as well as Volume 54 issue 4 of publishing year 2018 with different DOIs and different page numbers. The correct and citable version of the article remains Antimo MORETTI, Francesca GIMIGLIANO, Chiara ARIENTI, Joel POLLET, Carlotte KIEKENS, Stefano NEGRINI. The