Clinical trials

Around 30% of patients aged 65 and over experience functional decline due to hospitalization. Physical inactivity, often without medical justification, is common during hospital stays.This immobility leads to loss of autonomy, muscle strength, and increases post-discharge risks. Slow walking for 25-40 minutes daily significantly improves functional capacity. However, it could be difficult to reach this time of walking due to a lack of physiotherapist in hospital. A vibrating watch may encourage patients to walk or perform strengthening exercises. This simple intervention aims to improve function without requiring additional staff or resources

Quantifying respiratory effort is a key step in physiological and clinical research on exercise tolerance, mechanisms of fatigability, and ventilatory impairment. To date, reliable assessment relies on an invasive method: esophageal pressure (Pes) measurement using a balloon catheter inserted into the esophagus. Although Pes provides an indirect estimate of pleural and intrathoracic pressure, it is uncomfortable for patients, requires dedicated equipment, and may limit study participation. In critically ill patients, a noninvasive approach to quantify respiratory effort would have major clinical and scientific value. In acute respiratory distress, accurately tracking the intensity and evolution of respiratory effort could support earlier therapeutic decision-making. Shear Wave Elastography (SWE) is an ultrasound technology enabling very high acquisition rates and estimating tissue stiffness from shear-wave propagation induced by an acoustic impulse. Because muscle stiffness is strongly related to force produced during contraction, we hypothesize that intercostal muscle stiffness measured by SWE correlates with respiratory work and increases with rising inspiratory load.

A large amount of patients with COPD suffer from muscle dysfunction characterized by losses of muscle mass and strength. Studies have shown an association between a loss of quadriceps muscle mass and premature death. This study aims to investigate the clinimetric properties of a simple quadriceps perimetry and ShearWave elastography to improve the monitoring of skeletal muscle function in patients with COPD.

In recent years, fatherhood has changed considerably. Fathers are now more involved during the perinatal period, with their partner but also in caring for the child. Investigators now know that this period is also a source of major psychological upheaval, identity crisis, apprehension and anxiety for men. These upheavals can lead to depression that must be detected and treated as early as possible. This is an easy screening to perform using the EPDS (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale). Currently, the EPDS is the most widely used self-questionnaire to assess the risk of depression in women during the perinatal period. Indeed, it is systematically recommended in many countries. It is starting to be used for the same purpose in the perinatal period in men, although the scale has not been validated in a representative sample of men in the pre- or post-natal period. The main objective is to validate the use of the EPDS scale as a screening tool for postnatal depression in a population of French fathers. They complete the PH-Q9, EPDS and socio-demographic questionnaires online at inclusion and 6 to 8 weeks after the birth of their child. Fathers included at the maternity ward also too Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) at inclusion.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that impairs motor neurons, with a life expectancy of 2 to 7 years after diagnosis. ALS manifests as 'spinal' when it primarily affects limbs, or 'bulbar' when it impairs speech and swallowing. The disease progressively weakens all skeletal muscles, causing respiratory issues and increased risk of lung infections due to ineffective coughing. Mechanical cough assistance via In-exsufflation therapy/ mechanical in-exsufflator devie (INEX/MI-E) applies positive and negative airway pressures non-invasively to improve coughing. However, MI-E may fail in some ALS patients due to airway collapse, often related to brainstem muscle dysfunction.Research by Andersen et al. in 2017 highlighted that during MI-E, ALS patients often experience adverse laryngeal movements, which can obstruct airways and reduce the therapy's effectiveness. To combat this, they suggested individualized MI-E settings to minimize airway collapse. Modern MI-E devices, such as the EOVE-70, offer adjustable positive expiratory pressure (PEP) between cycles to potentially enhance airway stability and coughing efficiency. The current study focuses on the impact of PEP during therapy pauses on the peak expiratory flow rate in ALS patients, which could lead to improved therapeutic outcomes.