The current issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development (JRRD) includes a dozen articles that focus on the multidisciplinary field of rehabilitation medicine, including a comparison of male veterans to other male residents of community nursing homes, a description of a new test for evaluating tinnitus pitch and loudness, a molecular study of osseointegration, the effect of walking speed on gait, and a study that is the first to use physical and emotional health status to measure a person's disability. Full-text articles are available, free, online at www.vard.org.

MANUSCRIPTS FEATURED IN VOLUME 41, NUMBER 6

Physical and emotional health status used for the first time to measure disability
This study profiles a person's ability to perform basic daily-living activities based on both physical disability and emotional well-being. Investigators assessed patients receiving rehabilitation therapy in Rome, Italy, for spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease, depression, or stroke. Patients were grouped into four different profiles of functional ability based on degree of physical and emotional disability: from a rating of low (independent patients) to high (patients with severe disability). These disability profiles represent a significant step in defining patients with similar levels of disability who can be treated by standardized rehabilitative programs.

Prosthesis with suction suspension system better for amputee with active lifestyle
This study compares pressure applied to the residual limb with pin and suction suspension systems to identify causes of residual limb skin problems. Eight transtibial amputees performed three walking trials with the pin and suction suspension systems. During th
'"/>

Contact: Judith LaVoie
judith@vard.org
410-962-1800 x229
VA Research Communications Service
29-Dec-2004