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Characterization of esophageal body and lower esophageal sphincter motor function in the very premature neonate.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize esophageal body and lower esophageal sphincter (LES) motor function in very premature infants. STUDY DESIGN: Esophageal manometry was performed in 12 very premature infants of 26 to 33 weeks' postmenstrual age (PMA) (body weights of 610-1360 g). Esophageal motor patterns were recorded for 30 minutes with a perfused micromanometric sleeve assembly (outer diameter, 2.0 mm). RESULTS: Esophageal pressure waves triggered by dry swallows were predominantly (84%) peristaltic in propagation sequence. All infants showed tonic LES contraction; the mean resting LES pressure (LESP) for individual infants ranged from 5.0 +/- 4.1 mm Hg to 20.0 +/- 4.8 mm Hg. In all infants the LES relaxed (duration, 5.8 +/- 3.0 seconds; nadir pressure, 1.8 +/- 2.6 mm Hg) in response to pharyngeal swallows. Transient LES relaxations (TLESRs) (duration, 21.7 +/- 8.7 seconds; nadir pressure, 0.1 +/- 1.8 mm Hg) occurred on average 2.6 +/- 1.6 times per study; 86% of these relaxations triggered esophageal body common cavity events known to be associated with gastroesophageal reflux. CONCLUSIONS: Esophageal motor function is well developed in very premature infants. Our data also suggest that TLESR is the predominant mechanism of reflux in these babies.

Esophagogastric Junction↗

Effects of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) on esophageal motor function and gastroesophageal reflux.

The effects of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) placement on esophageal motor function and gastroesophageal reflux were investigated in patients with esophageal varices. In six men with esophageal varices, esophageal manometry and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were performed before and 15-20 days after TIPS placement. Intraesophageal pH monitoring was performed in the four patients with severe esophageal varices (defined as the largest sized varices) following TIPS placement. Findings were compared with those in six healthy men (controls) who underwent esophageal manometry and intraesophageal pH monitoring. The esophageal varices resolved or were reduced after TIPS placement. Resting lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressures were similar in the study group before and after TIPS placement and in the control subjects. The incidence and progression of esophageal contractions were similar in the study group before and after TIPS placement and in the control subjects. At 3 cm above the LES, the amplitude of esophageal contraction after TIPS placement was significantly higher than that before TIPS placement. At 3 and 8 cm above the LES, the amplitude of esophageal contraction in the control subjects was significantly higher than that in the study group before and after TIPS placement. Esophageal acid exposure time after TIPS placement was similar to that in the controls. TIPS placement is a useful treatment that improves esophageal motor function without the occurrence of pathologic gastroesophageal reflux.

Esophageal and Gastric Varices↗

Change in motor function and risk of mortality in older persons.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the association between change in motor function and mortality. DESIGN: Prospective, observational cohort study. SETTING: Approximately 40 retirement communities across the Chicago metropolitan area participating in the Rush Memory and Aging Project. PARTICIPANTS: Eight hundred thirty-seven community-based older persons without dementia. MEASUREMENTS: Change in composite measures of motor performance and muscle strength. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 2.2 years, 81 persons died. In a proportional hazards model adjusted for age, sex, education, and body mass index, each 1-unit increase in the level of baseline motor performance was associated with an approximately 10% decrease in risk of mortality (hazard ratio (HR)=0.901, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.863-0.941), and each unit of annual increase in motor performance was associated with an approximately 11% decrease in the risk of mortality (HR=0.887, 95% CI=0.835-0.942). In a similar model, each 1-unit increase in the level of baseline strength was associated with an approximately 9% decrease in the risk of mortality (HR=0.906, 95% CI=0.859-0.957), and each 1-unit annual increase in strength was associated with an approximately 10% decrease in the risk of mortality (HR=0.898, 95% CI=0.809-0.996). These results were similar when men and women were analyzed separately and after controlling for physical activity, cognition, and chronic disorders. When motor performance and muscle strength were examined in a single model, only baseline and annual change in motor performance were associated with mortality. CONCLUSION: Level and rate of change in strength and motor performance are associated with mortality. The attenuation of the association between strength and mortality by motor performance suggests that motor function is not a unitary process and that its components may vary in their associations with adverse health consequences in older persons.

Aged, 80 and over↗

An advanced approach for the assessment of gastric motor function in long-term type 1 diabetes mellitus with and without autonomic neuropathy.

Gastric motor dysfunction is a frequent and deleterious long-term complication in diabetes mellitus (DM) but the exact contribution of diabetic autonomic dysfunction remains unclear. The aim of this study was to assess indices of gastric motor function in long-term Type 1 DM in the light of the presence and absence of autonomic neuropathy by means of an advanced dynamic scintigraphic technique. Gastric scintigraphy with condensed images of a short dynamic sequence was applied to 27 long-term Type 1 diabetic patients (duration > 10 years) and 15 control subjects. Two indices of gastric peristalsis, the frequency of contractions (FC) and amplitude of contractions (AC), were assessed scintigraphically together with half-time of gastric emptying (t 1/2). Five cardiac reflex tests were performed to study electrocardiogram (ECG)-based cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN). Mean AC was significantly decreased in diabetic patients compared to control subjects (13 +/- 9% vs. 28 +/- 8%, p < 0.005). Mean FC was comparable between diabetic patients and control subjects min(-1). (3.1 +/- 0.4 min(-1) vs. 3.1 +/- 0.2 Compared to control subjects, half-time of gastric emptying was significantly prolonged in diabetic patients (31 +/- 17 min vs. 20 +/- 3 min, p < 0.001). Mean AC, FC and t 1/2 did not differ significantly between diabetic patients with (n = 10) and without (n = 17) ECG-based CAN. Our study demonstrates that in both long-term Type 1 DM with and without autonomic neuropathy, the amplitude but not the frequency of gastric contractions, is frequently reduced. A delay of gastric emptying in Type 1 DM is confirmed although it was independent from the presence of cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN). Analyzing gastric motor function with dynamic scintigraphic techniques using condensed images is a promising clinical approach to further elucidate the mechanisms of impaired gastric motility in DM.

Adult↗

Adaptive downhill skiing in children with cerebral palsy: effect on gross motor function.

PURPOSE: The study was designed to examine the effect of adaptive downhill skiing (ADS) on gross motor function in children with spastic cerebral palsy. METHODS: One girl and four boys participated (mean age = eight years, five months). All were ambulatory. Participants' Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) classifications were: Level I (n = 2); Level II (n = 2); Level III (n = 1). ADS was conducted for a 10-week period at one ski resort. Each participant had the same ski instructor. GMFM was obtained every five weeks: beginning five weeks before ADS instruction and continuing to 10 weeks after ADS instruction. RESULTS: After 10 weeks of ADS GMFM-D, and GMFM-Total Score increased 5.4% (p = 0.022) and 3.2% (p = 0.035), respectively, and remained increased 10 weeks after ADS. CONCLUSION: ADS could be recommended by clinicians as a recreational activity for the gross motor rehabilitation of ambulatory children with spastic cerebral palsy.

Cerebral Palsy↗

Cortical intraoperative stimulation in brain tumors as a tool to evaluate spatial data from motor functional MRI.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this prospective, double-blind study was to correlate motor functional MRI (fMRI) with cortical brain mapping by intraoperative stimulation using 3D reconstructed images of the surface of the brain, and to validate the spatial data of fMRI in patients with brain tumors. METHODS: Fourteen patients with tumors of the rolandic region underwent functional MR mapping of the hand region and subsequently cortical mapping before tumor resection. Data obtained with fMRI and brain mapping were not known previously by the neurosurgeon and by the neuroradiologist, respectively (double-blind study). RESULTS: In each case, the results of direct cortical mapping matched those obtained with fMRI, both positively and negatively, although the extent of the functional activations was larger than the area required to elicit the corresponding movement during intraoperative brain mapping. CONCLUSION: fMRI can be used before surgery to assess motor functional area in patients with rolandic tumors. More studies are needed to validate during surgery the real extent of fMRI activations.

Adult↗

Motor function of infants with spastic hemiplegia.

The motor function of 25 children with spastic hemiplegia was examined retrospectively using videotapes recorded at 2-8 months of age. Many infants showed deficient forward movement of the arm and deficient opening of the hand on the affected side. At 7 and 8 months of age, whether the hand was semiflexed or clenched was correlated with the later upper extremity function. In the prone position, most could support their weight on the flexed arm on the affected side. In the supine position, half of the infants could not extend the knee on the affected side. At 2 months of age, asymmetry of the upper and lower extremity movements was not identified. Persistent primitive reflexes and abnormal truncal muscular tone were not recognized in the hemiplegic infants, and did not seem to be signs predicting hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

Cerebral Palsy↗

Fractionated radiation facilitates repair and functional motor recovery after spinal cord transection in rat.

Previous studies suggest that motor recovery does not occur after spinal cord injury because reactive glia abort the natural repair processes. A permanent wound gap is left in the cord and the brain-cord circuitry consequently remains broken. Single-dose x-irradiation destroys reactive glia at the damage site in transected adult rat spinal cord. The wound then heals naturally, and a partially functional brain-cord circuitry is reconstructed. Timing is crucial; cell ablation is beneficial only within the third week after injury. Data presented here point to the possibility of translating these observations into a clinical therapy for preventing the paralysis following spinal cord injury in the human. The lesion site (at low thoracic level) in severed adult rat spinal cord was treated daily, over the third week postinjury, with protocols of fractionated radiation similar to those for treating human spinal cord tumors. This resulted, as with the single-dose protocol, in wound healing and restoration of some hindquarter motor function; in addition, the beneficial outcome was augmented. Of the restored hindlimb motor functions, weight-support and posture in stance was the only obvious one. Recovery of this motor function was partial to substantial and its incidence was 100% instead of about 50% obtained with the single-dose treatment. None of the hindlimbs, however, regained frequent stepping or any weight-bearing locomotion. These data indicate that the therapeutic outcome may be further augmented by tuning the radiation parameters within the critical time-window after injury. These data also indicate that dose-fractionation is an effective strategy and better than the single-dose treatment for targeting of reactive cells that abort the natural repair, suggesting that radiation therapy could be developed into a therapeutic procedure for repairing injured spinal cord.

Animals↗

Long-term assessment of hind limb motor function and neuronal injury following spinal cord ischemia in rats.

Recent evidence suggests that brain injury caused by ischemia is a dynamic process characterized by ongoing neuronal loss for at least 14 days after ischemia. However, long-term outcome following spinal cord ischemia has not been extensively examined. Therefore, we investigated the changes of hind limb motor function and neuronal injury during a 14-day recovery period after spinal cord ischemia. Male Sprague-Dawley rats received spinal cord ischemia (n = 64) or sham operation (n = 21). Spinal cord ischemia was induced by inflation of a 2F Fogarty catheter placed into the thoracic aorta for 6, 8, or 10 minutes. The rats were killed 2, 7, or 14 days after reperfusion. Hind limb motor function was assessed with the 21-point Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scale during the recovery period. The number of normal and necrotic neurons was counted in spinal cord sections stained with hematoxylin/eosin. Longer duration of spinal cord ischemia produced severer hind limb motor dysfunction at each time point. However, BBB scores gradually improved during the 14-day recovery period. Neurologic deterioration was not observed between 7 and 14 days after reperfusion. The number of necrotic neurons peaked 2 days after reperfusion and then decreased. A small number of necrotic neurons were still observed 7 and 14 days after reperfusion in some of the animals. These results indicate that, although hind limb motor function may gradually recover, neuronal loss can be ongoing for 14 days after spinal cord ischemia.

Animals↗

Optimal transcranial magnetic stimulation sites for the assessment of motor function.

The optimal placement sites for eliciting motor evoked potentials from the abductor digiti minimi and abductor hallucis muscles by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation were determined using a commercially available circular coli. Fifty volunteers were used for the study. The ability to elicit responses was found to be strongly dependent upon the scalp placement of the stimulator coil. The effects of altering the direction of current flow in the coil were tested on two different sets of volunteers: clockwise in one and counterclockwise in the other. It influenced only the locations of the sites which were optimal for eliciting responses from the abductor hallucis muscles and not those which were optimal for eliciting responses from the abductor digiti minimi muscles. Response latencies were found to be significantly dependent only upon volunteers' heights and not on their sex, age, or weight or the stimulus intensities used to elicit responses. No previous studies have defined the optimal scalp placements for eliciting responses from the lower extremities. This information may have clinical importance for making reliable assessments of patients with significantly impaired motor function.

Action Potentials↗

Differential regional effects of octreotide on human gastrointestinal motor function.

The effects of octreotide on regional motor function in the human gut are unclear. In a randomised, blinded study the effects of octreotide (50 micrograms, subcutaneously, three times daily) and placebo on gastric, small bowel, and colonic transit, and colonic motility and tone were assessed in 12 healthy volunteers whose colon had been cleansed. Octreotide accelerated initial gastric emptying (p = 0.05), inhibited small bowel transit (p < 0.01), and reduced ileocolonic bolus transfers (p < 0.05). Colonic transit was unaltered by octreotide; the postprandial colonic tonic response was inhibited (p < 0.05 v placebo), whereas colonic phasic pressure activity was increased by octreotide (p < 0.05 v placebo). These data support the use of octreotide in diarrhoeal states but not in diseases that cause small bowel stasis and bacterial overgrowth. Simultaneous measurements of colonic transit, tone, and phasic contractility are valid in studying the effects of pharmacological changes and may be applicable to the study of the human colon in health and disease.

Adult↗

Recovery of motor function after stroke.

Improvement of motor activity may occur after stroke. It may be because of recovery of marginally functional neurons. It may also occur by relearning, a process that strengthens existing pathways and may lead to new functional or structural changes- neuroplasticity. Clinical investigation into the treatment of chronic pain after thalamic infarction has shown improvement in motor function when pain relief is achieved with motor cortex stimulation. More recently, laboratory studies in rats and primates demonstrate significant improvement in forelimb reaching tasks in rats and primates after induced ischemic cortical infarction when rehabilitation is paired with stimulation of the injured cortex and cortical margin at low frequency (50 Hz). Structural changes have also been observed. Dendritic density in layer V of the cortex near the lesion increases after cortical stimulation, consistent with a restorative cortical plasticity. Also, stimulation combined with rehabilitation increases the area of the injured cortex from which movements can be evoked in response to stimulation of the injured cortex in rats. Unilateral cortical stimulation reduces secondary cortical hyperexcitability in the impaired hemisphere after stroke. These findings form the basis for the first clinical study motor cortex stimulation after chronic stroke in humans. A prospective, randomized multicenter study of subthreshold motor cortical electrical stimulation during rehabilitation in patients has been completed. The eight patients entered into this study had weakness from a stroke that occurred at least four months before enrollment. Results demonstrate that the treatment is safe. In addition, there was significant improvement in upper extremity function. These improvements persisted through the 12-week follow-up assessment period after completion of stimulation and rehabilitation. Recently, non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex demonstrates improvements in hand function that persist after stimulation for at least 25 minutes. Such work represents a paradigm shift in the approach towards rehabilitation of the stroke-injured brain away from pharmacologic flooding of neuronal receptors, instead towards targeted physiologic stimulation.

Animals↗

SH1 (cysteine 717) of smooth muscle myosin: its role in motor function.

To determine if a thiol group called SH1 has an important role in myosin's motor function, we made a mutant heavy meromyosin (HMM) without the thiol group and analyzed its properties. In chicken gizzard myosin, SH1 is located on the cysteine residue at position 717. By using genetic engineering techniques, this cysteine was substituted with threonine in chicken gizzard HMM, and that mutant HMM and unmutated HMM were expressed in biochemical quantities using a baculovirus system. The basal EDTA-, Ca(2+)-, and Mg(2+)-ATPase activities of the mutant were similar to those of HMM whose SH1 was modified by N-iodoacetyl-N'-(5-sulfo-1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine (IAEDANS). However, while the chemically modified HMM lost the function of the light chain phosphorylation-dependent regulation of the actin-activated ATPase activity, the mutant HMM exhibited the normal light chain-regulated actin-activated ATPase activity. Using an in vitro motility assay system, we found that the IAEDANS-modified HMM was unable to propel actin filaments but that the mutant HMM was able to move actin filaments in a manner indistinguishable from filament sliding generated by unmutated HMM. These results indicate that SH1 itself is not essential for the motor function of myosin and suggest that various effects observed with HMM modified by thiol reagents such as IAEDANS are caused by the bulkiness of the attached probes, which interferes with the swinging motion generated during ATP hydrolysis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Three-dimensional anisotropy contrast magnetic resonance axonography to predict the prognosis for motor function in patients suffering from stroke.

OBJECT: The purpose of this study was to assess how early wallerian degeneration in the corticospinal tracts of patients who had suffered from stroke was detected using three-dimensional anisotropy contrast (3D-AC) magnetic resonance (MR) axonography and to explore the possibility of predicting the prognosis for motor function in these patients. METHODS: Ten healthy volunteers and 16 stroke patients with hemiparesis were studied using MR images including 3D-AC MR axonography images obtained using a 1.5-tesla MR imaging system. The axonography was performed using an echoplanar imaging method. All patients underwent MR studies 2, 3, and 10 weeks after stroke onset. To detect wallerian degeneration, the diffusion anisotropy in the corticospinal tracts at the level of the upper pons was evaluated on axial images. These MR findings were compared with the patients' motor functions, which were classified according to the Brunnstrom criteria 12 weeks after the onset of stroke. In all patients with poor recovery (Brunnstrom Stages I-IV), wallerian degeneration, which was demonstrated as a reduction in diffusion anisotropy on axonography images, could be observed in the corticospinal tracts; this degeneration was not found in patients with good recovery (Stages V and VI). Axonography could be used to detect degeneration between 2 and 3 weeks after stroke onset. On conventional T2-weighted MR images, hyperintense areas indicating wallerian degeneration were not detected until 10 weeks after stroke onset. CONCLUSIONS: With the aid of 3D-AC MR axonography, wallerian degeneration can be detected in the corticospinal tracts during the early stage of stroke (2-3 weeks after onset), much earlier than it can be detected using T2-weighted MR imaging. The procedure of 3D-AC MR axonography may be useful in predicting motor function prognosis in stroke patients.

Adult↗

Frequency-dependent reciprocal modulation of verbal fluency and motor functions in subthalamic deep brain stimulation.

BACKGROUND: High-frequency deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) improves motor functions in those with Parkinson disease but may worsen frontal functions such as verbal fluency (VF). In contrast, low-frequency DBS leads to deterioration of motor functions. It is not known whether low-frequency STN DBS also has an effect on frontal functions. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether low-frequency STN DBS in contrast to high-frequency STN DBS has a positive effect on frontal functions on the basis of VF test results. DESIGN: A double-blind randomized crossover experiment to compare performance in 4 VF subtests and motor performance at 10 Hz, 130 Hz, and no stimulation. SETTING: University hospitals in Düsseldorf and Cologne, Germany. PATIENTS: Twelve patients with Parkinson disease 3 months or more after bilateral electrode implantation into the STN. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Mean number of words in VF at different stimulation frequencies. RESULTS: The VF was significantly better at 10 Hz (48.3 words) compared with 130 Hz and showed a nonsignificant trend toward worsening at 130 Hz (42.3 words) compared with no stimulation (43.8 words). These results were consistent across all subtests. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides evidence of a beneficial effect of low-frequency (10 Hz) STN DBS on VF, which may be caused by activating neural pathways projecting to the frontal cortex. In addition, the study reproduces the negative effect of therapeutic high-frequency STN DBS on VF. The study results provide evidence for a frequency-dependent modulation of cognitive circuits involving the STN.

Aged↗

Relating MRI changes to motor deficit after ischemic stroke by segmentation of functional motor pathways.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Infarct size on T2-weighted MRI correlates only modestly with outcome, particularly for small strokes. This may be largely because of differences in the locations of infarcts and consequently in the functional pathways that are damaged. To test this hypothesis quantitatively, we developed a "mask" of the corticospinal pathway to determine whether the extent of stroke intersection with the pathway would be more closely related to clinical motor deficit and axonal injury in the descending motor pathways than total stroke lesion volume. METHODS: Eighteen patients were studied > or =1 month after first ischemic stroke that caused a motor deficit by use of brain T2-weighted imaging, MR spectroscopic (MRS) measurements of the neuronal marker compound N-acetyl aspartate in the posterior limb of the internal capsule, and motor impairment and disability measures. A corticospinal mask based on neuroanatomic landmarks was generated from a subset of the MRI data. The maximum proportion of the cross-sectional area of this mask occupied by stroke was determined for each patient after all brain images were transformed into a common stereotaxic brain space. RESULTS: There was a significant linear relationship between the maximum proportional cross-sectional area of the corticospinal mask occupied by stroke and motor deficit (r(2)=0.82, P<0.001), whereas the relationship between the total stroke volume and motor deficit was better described by a cubic curve (r(2)=0.76, P<0.001). Inspection of the data plots showed that the total stroke volume discriminated poorly between smaller strokes with regard to the extent of associated motor deficit, whereas the maximum proportion of the mask cross-sectional area occupied by stroke appeared to be a more discriminatory marker of motor deficit and also N-acetyl aspartate reduction. CONCLUSIONS: Segmentation of functional motor pathways on MRI allows estimation of the extent of damage specifically to that pathway by the stroke lesion. The extent of stroke intersection with the motor pathways was more linearly related to the magnitude of motor deficit than total lesion volume and appeared to be a better discriminator between small strokes with regard to motor deficit. This emphasizes the importance of the anatomic relationship of the infarct to local structures in determining functional impairment. Prospective studies are necessary to assess whether this approach would allow improved early estimation of prognosis after stroke.

Adult↗

Gut motor function: immunological control in enteric infection and inflammation.

Alteration in gastrointestinal (GI) motility occurs in a variety of clinical settings which include acute enteritis, inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal pseudo-obstruction and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Most disorders affecting the GI tract arise as a result of noxious stimulation from the lumen via either microbes or chemicals. However, it is not clear how injurious processes initiated in the mucosa alter function in the deeper motor apparatus of the gut wall. Activation of immune cells may lead to changes in motor-sensory function in the gut resulting in the development of an efficient defence force which assists in the eviction of the noxious agent from the intestinal lumen. This review addresses the interface between immune and motor system in the context of host resistance based on the studies in murine model of enteric nematode parasite infection. These studies clearly demonstrate that the infection-induced T helper 2 type immune response is critical in producing the alterations of infection-induced intestinal muscle function in this infection and that this immune-mediated alteration in muscle function is associated with host defence mechanisms. In addition, by manipulating the host immune response, it is possible to modulate the accompanying muscle function, and this may have clinical relevance. These observations not only provide valuable information on the immunological control of gut motor function and its role in host defence in enteric infection, but also provide a basis for understanding pathophysiology of gastrointestinal motility disorders such as in IBS.

Animals↗

[Study of the motor function of the function and duodenum at diseases of the biliary excretion system].

For the last few years the disorders of the motor function of the gastrointestinal tract are subjects of interest for investigators and physicians. The article presents an analysis of different abnormalities of the motor function of the stomach and duodenum made by gastroduodenoscintigraphy in patients with the biliary tract disorders. The most frequent types of motor gastric and duodenal dysfunctions are discussed in patients with gall bladder dysfunction, chronic cholescystitis, and patients after cholecystectomy.

Biliary Tract↗