Sara Almeida

State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) | UNICAMP · Departamento de Neurologia

Introdução Os sobreviventes de AVC apresentam comprometimentos físicos que contribuem para a sua capacidade reduzida de realizar atividades independentes diárias. Disfunções musculares como reduções na amplitude máxima de movimento (ADMMAX), níveis anormais na ativação muscular medida por eletromiografia de superfície (sEMG) e modificações no índic...

The integration of innovative neurotechnologies in rehabilitation programs seems promising for enhancing motor recovery in people with stroke. This study presents a comprehensive exploration of brain connectivity with symmetry and graph network analyses during motor rehabilitation using extended reality (XR) training and transcranial direct current...

The present study aimed to examine changes in range of motion (ROM), muscle activity and functionality of chronic stroke survivors throughout a rehabilitation program including virtual reality (VR) exercises combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) technologies. Four stroke survivors (1 female, 60-67 y, 8-26 months post-stroke)...

The study of functional reorganization following stroke has been steadily growing supported by advances in neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Concomitantly, graph theory has been increasingly employed in neuroscience to model the brain's functional connectivity (FC) and to investigate it in a variety of c...

Following a stroke, the brain undergoes a process of neuronal reorganization to compensate for structural damage and cope with functionality loss. Increases in stroke-induced neurogenesis rates in the dentate gyrus and neural migration from the hippocampus towards the affected site have been observed, suggesting that the hippocampus is involved in...

The use of Virtual Reality (VR) systems for rehabilitation treatment as a complement to conventional therapy has grown in recent years. Upper limbs therapy using VR has already been shown useful for stroke patients. In this work, we present a pilot study aiming to investigate the use of a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) protocol to ana...

Advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques are improving our understanding of cerebrovascular diseases. Elucidation of the critical pathways in post-stroke recovery would not only provide important fundamental insight in brain function and plasticity but could also lead the way toward development of new rehabilitation strategies for recov...

Depression and anxiety symptoms are common after stroke and associated to reduction in quality of life and poor physical and social outcomes. The Default Mode Network (DMN) plays an important role in the emotional processing. We investigated whether these symptoms are associated to a disruption of DMN functional connectivity in the first month afte...

Background: Brain mapping studies have demonstrated that functional poststroke brain reorganization is associated with recovery of motor function. Nonetheless, the specific mechanisms associated with functional reorganization leading to motor recovery are still partly unknown. In this study, we performed a cross-sectional evaluation of poststroke...

Objective: To evaluate the risk factors and comorbid conditions associated with the development of pneumonia in patients with acute stroke. To determine the independent predictors of pneumonia. Method: Retrospective study from July to December 2011. We reviewed all medical charts with diagnosis of stroke. Results: 159 patients (18-90 years) we...

The steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) is a particular response of the brain observed as an oscillating wave induced by repetitive visual stimulation. This paper focuses on the use of this paradigm for the construction of a brain-computer interface (BCI) system using different numbers of visual stimuli in different frequencies. The resp...

To verify how efficient respiratory parameters are in the follow-up of subjects with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to observe possible correlations between respiratory and nutritional functions. Sixteen patients with probable or defined ALS were selected and evaluated over eight months using the following respiratory parameters: spirometr...

We evaluated the efficacy of oral supplementation with milk whey proteins and modified starch (70%WPI:30%MS), on nutritional and functional parameters of patients with ALS. A prospective randomized double-blind study was performed with 16 ALS patients, divided in two groups, the treatment group received (70%WPI:30%MS) and the control group received...

INTRODUCTION: Vestibular rehabilitation has been recognized as a treatment of choice for patients with persistent vertigo due to peripheral vestibular dysfunction, providing significant improvements in quality of life. Among the treatments listed have been exercises Cawthorne and Cooksey, sensory integration and body-moving platforms. OBJECTIVE: Th...

O objetivo da pesquisa foi avaliar o efeito do uso do peso em membros inferiores durante a marcha, nos indivíduos com ataxia. Acredita-se que o peso em membros inferiores traz benefícios na qualidade da marcha nos pacientes atáxicos, alterando a programação motora e conexões neurais cerebelares que são possíveis de alterações na aprendizagem motora...

This articles presents the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Equiscale, and assesses its reliability and validity. The translation was tested on 11 randomly-selected patients with multiple sclerosis, who were also assessed by the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). The Equi...

To establish correlations between nutritional, functional and respiratory indices of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Twenty patients (13 appendicular-GA and 7 bulbar-GB) were included in the multidisciplinary study at the Neurological Clinic Ambulatory of the University of Campinas Hospital. Among the GA type significant correlat...