Medical Student Research Forum Posters

Females are at higher risk for non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries compared to males, in part due to sex-based differences in neuromuscular control during high-risk tasks such as jump landing.  Strength development during puberty tends to be lower and delayed in females compared to males; this may result in compensatory neuromuscular control patterns that placefemales at higher risk for ACL injury. The relationship between strength development andneuromuscular control is not currently known.The objective is to determine the effect of sex, strength, and pubertal stage on neuromuscular control during jump landing in middle school children.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries are prevalent in the United States and are associated with poor quality of life and decreased physical activity. Use of surgical intervention for the treatment of ACL injuries carries a myriad of challenges for patients including but not limited to high cost of treatment as well as an increased risk of developing secondary osteoarthritis. Given these difficulties associated with the application of surgical intervention in the treatment of acute ACL tears, more and more patients are looking for less invasive, cost-effective treatment modalities including the application of autologous stem cell treatment. While physicians have begun to offer more autologous stem cell treatment modalities to patients who have experienced acute ACL tears, there is still a lack of quality research that demonstrates the efficacy of these therapies, thus indicating the need for more thorough studies that evaluate the effectiveness of this regenerative orthobiologic technology. Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate has risen as a potential viable option for patients interested in regenerative, less invasive treatment of knee pathologies

• Walking ability is an important marker of overall health1.

• Speed is the most frequently used metric of walking function2-3. However, walking speed is a non-specific metric as it is influenced by multiple factors1.

• Previous work4 has identified key components of bipedal locomotion to develop a Comprehensive Locomotor Index5 (CLI) for objective assessment of walking function in stroke survivors.

• Notably, many presumed healthy controls received submaximal scores on the CLI4-5. On further examination, we found these individuals revealed presence of subclinical pathology across multiple systems.

• Further investigation is needed to determine which elements of the CLI are most affected by specific pathologies.

• Data contributing to development of the CLI were obtained in a dedicated laboratory setting. For a diagnostic tool to become broadly used it needs to become more accessible for patients and providers.

FSHD is an autosomal-dominant disorder that asymmetrically affects the face, shoulders, and upper arms and later progresses to affecting the trunk and lower extremities. Symptoms usually begin before the age of 20 with a prevalence thought to occur around 4-10 per 100,000 people (1,2). The pathogenesis has been linked to the inappropriate expression of DUX4, a gene usually limited to the germline, that relaxes the chromatin either by a loss of macrosatellite repeats (D4Z4) or mutations in the structural maintenance of chromosome flexible hinge domain containing gene 1 (SMCHD1).