Relationship between changes in somesthetic evoked responses and electroencephalographic findings in the child with hemiplegia.
The results of somesthetic evoked response (SER) and electroencephalogram (EEG) records in 43 children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy have been compared. In all children there was a positive correlation between the SER changes and the affected side of the body. In 12 children the SER of the "damaged" hemisphere disappeared; in 31 children it was less than the response of the "healthy" hemisphere. On the other hand, a positive correlation between the EEG changes and the affected side was found in only 16 of the patients, and there was a dubious correlation in three cases. It is concluded that SER data are more accurate and reliable than EEG results. Moreover, SER findings allow cerebral damage to be suspected earlier than the EEG results and therefore are of greater prognostic value.