Search

Background and Purpose. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the influence of pain and muscle weakness on gait variables in subjects with patellofemoral pain (PFP). Subjects. Nineteen female subjects with a diagnosis of PFP and 19 female subjects without PFP participated in the study. Methods. Subjects underwent gait analysis (stride characteristics and joint motion) during level walking, ascending and descending stairs, and ascending and descending ramps, in addition to isometric torque testing of the knee extensors of the involved limb. Pain and functional status also were assessed. Results. Compared with the comparison group, the primary gait compensation in the PFP group was a reduced walking speed, which was a function of both a reduced stride length and cadence Knee extensor torque as the only predictor of gait function, with increased torque correlating with improved stride characteristics. In addition, PFP was not associated with locomotor function. Conclusion and Discussion. These findings suggest that functional ability in persons with PFP is associated with increased quadriceps femoris muscle torque. Future research is needed to determine whether function improves with quadriceps femoris muscle strengthening. [Powers CM, Perry J, Hsu A, Hislop HJ. Are patellofemoral pain and quadriceps femoris muscle torque associated with locomotor function. Phys Ther. 1997;77:1063-1078.], Key Words: Gait, Patellofemoral pain, Quadriceps femoris muscle torque. During the stance phase of gait, the knee is believed to be the principal determinant of limb stability.[1] The quadriceps femoris [...]

Recent studies have reported the presence of simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA sequences in approximately 40% of tumor samples from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients from the United States. We examined a series of 259 tumor and blood samples, including 152 NHL samples, from patients in the U.K. with lymphadenopathy and lymphoid leukemia for the presence of SV40 DNA using a highly sensitive quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay and a consensus PCR assay capable of detecting the polyomaviruses SV40, BK, and JC. SV40 DNA sequences were not detected in any sample using either assay. Because the incidence of NHL is similar in the U.K. and the United States, this finding suggests that SV40 is unlikely to have an etiologic role in NHL.