Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology
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To investigate the effects of mexiletine, an analog of lidocaine, on excitability of human axons in vivo. ⋯ Measurements of the excitability indices can be used for non-invasive assessment and monitoring of the effects of mexiletine in patients with neuropathic pain or muscle cramps.
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Comparative Study
Prediction of 'awakening' and outcome in prolonged acute coma from severe traumatic brain injury: evidence for validity of short latency SEPs.
To evaluate the prognostic value of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) considering both 'awakening' and disability. ⋯ Differently from post-anoxic, in post-traumatic coma the presence of normal SEPs has a favourable predictive value both for 'awakening' and disability. We think that in literature enough attention has still not been paid to this finding.
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Comparative Study
Stroke affects the coordination and stabilization of head, thorax and pelvis during voluntary horizontal head motions performed in walking.
This study was conducted to investigate and compare the coordination and stabilization of axial segments during walking with and without horizontal voluntary head turns, in healthy (n=5) and hemiparetic (n=10) subjects. ⋯ The findings suggest that: (1) head rotations during walking modify axial segment coordination in a direction-specific manner, (2) the pelvic rotations associated with locomotion remained unaffected by head rotations and (3) stroke alters this coordination behavior, which may contribute to balance dysfunctions during locomotion.
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In spinal cord injured (SCI) subjects, exaggerated withdrawal reflexes associated with a dominant flexor pattern irrespective of stimulation site have been reported. In the present study, withdrawal reflex receptive field (RRF) was determined in complete SCI subjects (N=9). ⋯ The study improves the understanding of spinal reflex control in spinal intact and spinal cord injured subjects.
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In cochlear implant recipients, the threshold of the electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) has been shown to correlate with the perceptual detection threshold and maximum comfortable loudness levels (respectively, T- and C-levels) used for implant programming. Our general objective was to model the relationship between ECAP threshold and T/C-levels by taking into account their relative changes within each subject. In particular, we were interested in investigating further the validity of ECAP threshold as a predictor of psychophysical levels, depending on intra-cochlear electrode location and time of testing (from 1 to 18 months post-implantation). ⋯ The results suggest that covariation between ECAP thresholds and psychophysics plays a decisive role in the relationship of ECAP threshold with T-, but not with C-level. Therefore, our regression model and the parallel profiles method should both be used for predicting, respectively, the T- and the C-levels. Although the predictability of our regression model seems to be better for middle and apical electrodes, its utilization should be extended to basal electrodes after 6 months' implant use.