Impact Of A Resistance Training Program On Ataxia As Measured By An Innovative Computer-based Test
Bibliographic record
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix/Saguenay (ARSACS) is a debilitating neuromuscular disease that evolves slowly over multiple decades. One of the most easily recognizable physical manifestations is the progressive loss of coordination in the upper limbs which may also affect fine and gross dexterity. It is believed that physical exercise could be beneficial to improve symptoms of ataxia. Particularly, strong and powerful upper limbs may provide more control over movements and thus, indirectly improve coordination. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of an 8-week upper limb resistance training program on symptoms of ataxia in ARSACS patients. METHODS: Thirteen ARSACS patients participated in this study. All participants were asked to perform a computer-based Archimedes spiral test before and after the training program. The training program consisted of two 30-minute sessions each week. Each session consisted of power and strength exercises involving the following muscle groups: biceps, triceps, deltoids, pectorals and latissimus dorsi. RESULTS: The measure of ataxia was evaluated using frequency analysis. It was determined that frequencies from f=25 to f=47 provided the best sensitivity to changes. Data obtained before and after training show that frequency analyses performed within this region resulted in significant reduction in ataxia symptoms with high effect size (ES) of 0.70 to 0.85. In addition, all other frequency components also show notable improvements with ES ranging between 0.41 and 0.74 (moderate to high effect). DISCUSSION: After an 8-week training program, the spiral traces produced by the participants became visibly less entangled. This was confirmed by frequency analysis results for f=25 to f=47 that showed significant improvement after the exercise program. Beyond the statistical significance, the values of the ES highlight the clinical importance of these changes. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that, even with a relatively short resistance training program, it is possible to induce significant improvement of ataxia symptoms in the upper-limbs of ARSACS patients as measured by a computer-based Archimedes spiral test.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".