Skip Navigation



Brain Advance Access published online on May 5, 2004
Brain, doi:10.1093/brain/awh173
© 2004 by Guarantors of Brain
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
127/7/1584    most recent
awh173v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Iles, J. F.
Right arrow Articles by Savic, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Iles, J. F.
Right arrow Articles by Savic, G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Received July 1, 2003
Revised February 26, 2004
Accepted March 1, 2004

Article

Vestibular-evoked muscle responses in patients with spinal cord injury

J. F. Iles 1*, Alima S. Ali 1, Gordana Savic 2

1 Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
2 National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: john.iles{at}zoo.ox.ac.uk.


  Abstract

The vestibular system was activated by galvanic electrical stimulation in 22 patients with spinal cord injury. Three patients were studied standing and all were studied sitting. Electromyographic responses recorded in soleus (standing patients) and the erectores spinae (all patients) were compared with data from 18 control subjects. The vestibular stimulus polarity and head position were arranged so as to produce excitatory medium latency muscle responses in the controls. Responses in the patient group were present bilaterally, present unilaterally or absent below the level of injury. The amplitude of response recorded in erectores spinae at lumbar levels below the lesion in 21 patients (left and right side responses summed) and five control subjects was positively correlated with American Spinal Injuries Association (ASIA) grade: the smallest amplitudes were found in patients with the most severe impairment (Spearman rank correlation coefficient rs = 0.59; P = 0.002, two-tailed). The latency of response (averaged for both sides) was negatively correlated with ASIA grade in 21 patients: the longest latencies were found in patients with the most severe impairment (rs = -0.57; P < 0.01, two-tailed). Amplitude and latency were negatively correlated (rs = -0.72, P < 0.002, two-tailed). The latencies of responses recorded in the erectores spinae at different vertebral levels were linearly related to the vertical distance from the inion to the recording site in both patient and control groups. The conduction velocities of the spinal pathways activated by vestibular stimulation were 4.6 and 10.4 m/s in patient (recording below lesion) and control groups, respectively. Both clinical status (patients recording below lesion, patients recording above lesion and controls) and distance were significant predictors of latency (general linear model, P < 0.0005). It is concluded that measurement of vestibular-evoked responses could provide information on the level and density of spinal cord lesions.

Key Words: vestibular system; spinal cord; spinal cord injury


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am J Trop Med HygHome page
L. Felipe, D. U. Goncalves, M. C. Tavares, S. R. Sousa-Pereira, C. M. de Figueiredo Antunes, and J. R. Lambertucci
Vestibular-Evoked Myogenic Potential (VEMP) in the Evaluation of Schistosomal Myeloradiculopathy
Am J Trop Med Hyg, October 1, 2009; 81(4): 551 - 554.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.