Journal of neurosurgery
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 1990
Normal and radiculopathic cutaneous pain tolerance levels evaluated by heat-beam dolorimetry.
The heat-beam dolorimeter has previously been used to obtain cutaneous pain tolerance measures in normal volunteers and patients with chronic pain. In the present study, normal reference data were collected at two stimulus intensities for 24 volunteers, and the stimulus-effect relationship (decreasing tolerance latency with increasing stimulus intensity) was found significant (p less than 0.001) for all body sites tested. No overall sex differences were found; males behaved slightly more stoically than females, with differences significant only at the T3 site over the breasts. ⋯ No significant lateral asymmetry was found in cutaneous pain tolerance except at the dorsum of the hand: the right hand evinced elevated pain tolerance compared with the left hand in both right- and left-handed subjects. Eight radiculopathic pain patients with clinically involved left L5 nerve roots were evaluated and their responses were compared with the volunteer normal reference data. The radiculopathic group evinced elevated tolerance levels in both the radiculopathic dermatome and noninvolved sites compared with normal individuals (p less than 0.05).
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 1990
Magnetic resonance demonstration of vertebral artery dissection. Report of two cases.
Vertebral artery dissection may be spontaneous or related to some traumatic event. Diagnosis has usually been made by angiography, an invasive procedure with certain well-known risks. The authors describe the magnetic resonance (MR) appearance (both on conventional spin-echo and on gradient refocused "flow" sequences) in two patients with vertebral artery dissection confirmed by angiography. It is proposed that the less invasive MR imaging might be the imaging modality of choice for initial evaluation of suspected vertebral artery dissection.