Electromyography and clinical neurophysiology
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Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol · Nov 2006
Randomized Controlled TrialA randomized, single blind placebo controlled clinical trial on the effect of continuous ultrasound on low back pain.
Low back pain (LBP) is a very common problem in primary care and a major cause of disability. There is no evidence for the efficacy of therapeutic modalities such as ultrasound in LBP In a randomized, single blind placebo controlled clinical trial, we aimed to evaluate the effect of continuous ultrasound (US) in patients with non specific LBP Of the fifty eight patients recruited, 10 patients (8 women and 2 men) randomly allocated to ultrasound (n=5) or placebo controlled (n=5) groups. The patients were treated by either US or sham-US for ten sessions, three days per week, every other day. ⋯ Before and after treatment, the mean H reflex latency and Hmax/Mmax ratio, right and left side were similar in the groups (p > 0.05), and no significant changes were observed in the treatment groups (p > 0.05). After treatment, the extension and lateral flexion range of motion significantly increased in the US group (p = 0.04), but the back movements in the placebo group did not show significant changes (p > 0.05). The present study supports the significant effect of US on LBP, and suggests that US may improve the functional ability of patients with non specific low back pain.
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Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol · Nov 2006
Transcranial stimulation parameters to elicit motor evoked potentials.
We studied effectiveness of single, paired, and repetitive transcranial electrical stimulation to activate motor cortex in patients during spine surgery. ⋯ This study shows that the intraoperative repetitive transcranial stimulation is the most effective method to activate descending motor tracts under anesthesia.
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Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol · May 2006
Comparative StudyEvaluation of asymptomatic central neuropathy in type I diabetes mellitus.
Diabetic neuropathy is recognized as the most common clinical picture of nervous system disorders caused by diabetes mellitus (DM). Although peripheral and autonomic nervous system involvements are frequently encountered, there exists a few data about the incidence of central diabetic neuropathies. Central nervous system degeneration is a well known pathology in diabetic patients in the long term. It is possible to reveal central nervous system involvement at the early stages by using evoked potentials (EP). The aim of this study is to evaluate the auditory, visual and sensorial abnormalities in type I diabetic patients, who also have normal nerve conduction studies, with somatosensory, brainstem auditory and visual EP studies (SEP, VEP BAEP); to determine the frequency of these abnormalities and to investigate the relationship between other variables such as age, gender, duration of the diabetes and degree of the metabolic control. ⋯ Besides independent from peripheral pathologies, central nervous system involvement could also be observed in diabetic children. EP changes can be detected in asymptomatic patients that would be a predictor of future symptoms.
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Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol · May 2006
Initial EEG in status epilepticus is helpful in predicting seizure recurrence.
There is paucity of prospective studies evaluating the role of EEG in the prognosis of status epilepticus (SE). The present study aims at evaluating the role of clinical, EEG and radiological changes in predicting the outcome of SE. ⋯ EEG is useful in monitoring SE and its abnormality at 1 hour predicts seizure recurrence within 24-hour.
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Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol · Sep 2005
Quantitative motor unit action potentials (QMUAP) in whiplash patients with neck and upper-limb pain.
Needle EMG studies in patients with whiplash symptoms to document presence of neural injury, such as cervical radiculopathy, are not available. ⋯ QEMG changes suggest neural injury in symptomatic side C6 and C7 innervated muscles, even in the absence of spontaneous activity. In acute and chronic pain patients a higher percentage of polyphasic MUAPs is noted in the symptomatic side C6 muscle. In chronic pain patients higher MUAP frequencies are noted in the symptomatic side C6 muscle.