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Biomedical subjects

A Travlos

Publications and source records attributed to A Travlos.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Monopolar needle evaluation of paraspinal musculature in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions and the effects of aging.

Motor unit characteristics (phases, turns, amplitude, duration, and area) were measured using a monopolar needle and narrowed bandpass (500 Hz to 10 kHz) in cervical, thoracic, and lumbar paraspinal muscles in 66 subjects (36 women and 30 men) aged 22-81 years (mean age 45.7 years). Cervical motor units were of lower amplitude and area than thoracic and lumbar motor units (P = 0.0001), respectively. The durations of lumbar motor units were longer and larger than cervical and thoracic motor units (P = 0.0004). Analysis of covariance of the measured characteristics against age showed no significance in the cervical and thoracic regions. In lumbar paraspinal motor units, phases and turns increased significantly with age (P = 0.044 and P = 0.016, respectively). The increase was < 1.0 phase over 30 years. Motor unit amplitude increased with aging (P = 0.055) showing an increase of 360 microV over a 30-year time period. It is appropriate to assess the number of phases and turns, as well as the duration of the motor units in the cervical and thoracic (but not lumbar) spines in addition to seeking evidence of spontaneous, single fiber discharges.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Cerebrospinal fluid cell count following spinal cord injury.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) changes after spinal cord injury (SCI) were evaulated by retrospective analysis of all patients admitted to the Acute Spinal Cord Injury Unit (ASCIU) at University Hospital, Shaughnessy Site in Vancouver, British Columbia. A total of 1,917 admissions occurred during the 10-year study period with 1,151 due to acute trauma. The charts of all patients with SCI due to trauma were reviewed to identify patients in whom a CSF puncture was performed for any reason. Traumatic SCI is associated with elevations in the corrected white blood cell count (cWBC) that we believe reflect an inflammatory response to injury. The elevation in cWBC is greatest in the first week after injury. Elevations in cWBC more than 1 week after injury do occur but are uncommon. The white cell differential count consists primarily of lymphocytes and polymorphonucleocytes. Three weeks after injury cell counts should be normal. Protein levels are elevated after trauma and should not be used to assess the presence of infection. LP should be part of the septic workup of SCI patients just as it would be for any other population if meningitis is a consideration.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Steroid psychosis: a cause of confusion on the acute spinal cord injury unit.

The use of glucocorticoids has long been known to be associated with a number of side effects. The current use of high-dose methylprednisolone in spinal cord injured patients puts this population at increased risk. In particular, the risk of acute psychotic reactions is increased because it is a dose response relationship. Conservative estimates report an incidence of 5.7%. These reactions place the patient at increased risk of further spinal cord injury and worsening neurologic deficit. We present two cases of possible steroid psychosis in which the mental status changes did indeed place the patients at risk of further injury.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Transcranial magnetic stimulation for detection of preclinical cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Twenty-three patients, mean age 50.4 years, with cervical radiculopathy at C7 or more rostrally, were studied with electromyography, CT scans (in 16 cases) and transcranial magnetic stimulation. None had overt evidence of myelopathy. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from the hand muscles (C8/T1), and latency, amplitude, and the MEP/CMAP ratio and central motor delay between the hand motor cortex and the lower cervical spine were measured. One or more of these were abnormal in 15 of 23 cases (65%). The most common abnormality was a reduced MEP/CMAP ratio. The findings indicate that physiologic dysfunction of the spinal cord, caudal to a radiculopathy, frequently accompanies a radiculopathy and may antedate overt cervical spondylotic myelopathy. This may be valuable in directing more timely surgical intervention.

Action Potentials↗