Journal international de neuroréadaptation

Purpose: To study the influence of two types of motion, dance and Tai Chi, on knee joint proprioception and analyse the different ways in which physical exercise affects body proprioception.

Method: All experiments were conducted in Sports Biomechanics Laboratory at College of Physical Education and Sport at Beijing Normal University. The Biodex isokinetic test system (Biodex system 4, BS4) from the United States Biodex medical was used to test passive position sense and force sense of the dominant knee.

Results: When the knee joint was at 15, 30 and 45 degree positions, the Tai Chi exercise group was much better than sedentary group (P<0.05) and the 45 degree position in the Tai Chi group was much better than that in the Latin dance group (P<0.01).When the knee joint was at the 30 and 60 degree positions, the quadriceps force sense was significantly better in the Tai Chi group than in the Latin dance and sedentary groups. In a test of the four angles, the hamstring force sense in the Tai Chi exercise group was obviously better than that in the sedentary group (P<0.05); at the 15 degree position, the Tai Chi group was significantly better than the Latin group (P<0.05); and at both 30 and 60 degree positions, the hamstring force sense of the Latin group was obviously better than that of the sedentary group (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Compared to Latin dance exercise, Tai Chi exercise can improve both position sense and force sense to improve knee joint control ability and increase body balance to prevent injury in athletes and falls in the elderly.

The article provides methodological approaches to execution of medical rehabilitation in the Republic of Belarus and sets forth a stage-to-stage system, consisting of 5 successive rehabilitation steps. The paper lists general approaches to rehabilitation of cerebral stroke patients and 3 rehabilitation programs for such patients. The rehabilitation programs meant for minimization of disabilities in patients and their integration into the family, work collective and society.

Objective: To investigate the protective effect of Polygonum multiflorum extracts (EPM) on SH-SY5Y cells treated with MPP+. Methods: SH-SY5Y cells were first exposed to various doses of EPM, and then treated with MPP+. The cell viability was detected with MTT assay, cell morphology was observed with microscope by Hoechst33258 staining, the level of glutathione (GSH), Malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activity of Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured with UV spectrophotometer. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the mitochondrial membrane potential were observed with fluorescence microscope. The expression of p-JNK and Caspase 3 was analyzed by Western Blot. Results: After 0.5 mmol/L MPP+ treatment for 48 h, the viability of SH-SY5Y cells was decreased to 44.7% (VS. control group), the shrunk cell body and nuclear condensation were observed. Compared with control group, the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the expression of p-JNK and Caspase 3 were increased significantly in MPP+ treated SH-SY5Y cells, whereas the level of GSH and the mitochondrial membrane potential was reduced significantly in MPP+ treated group. However, pretreatment with EPM (at the concentration of 5, 25 and 100 mg/L) 4 h prior to being exposed to MPP+ rescued the cell viability of SH-SY5Y cells, and restored the cell morphological features in a dose-dependent manner. The increasement of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the expression of p-JNK and Caspase 3 induced by MPP+ were also inhibited significantly by pretreatment with EPM. Exposure to EPM also blocked the reduction of the GSH level and the mitochondrial membrane potential induced by MPP+ in SH-SY5Y cells. Conclusion: Our results suggested that the EPM was able to protect the SH-SY5Y cells against the damage induced by MPP+, with the mechanism involved in resisting the oxidative stress.