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Which patients need referral for anal sphincter electromyography?

Needle electromyography (EMG) of lower sacral myotomes is useful in certain patients with urinary, bowel, or sexual dysfunction. The aim of the study was to identify the clinical profile of patients who require such testing. Medical records were retrospectively reviewed, and findings evaluated using bivariate and multivariate statistics. A neuropathic condition affecting the lower sacral segments was diagnosed by quantitative concentric needle EMG of the external anal sphincter (EAS) muscle. Neuropathic changes in the EAS were found in 85 (44%) of 193 patients studied. On ordinal logistic regression analysis, bladder-emptying difficulties and perineal sensory loss were significantly related to the presence of a neuropathic EMG. No guidelines for referral for anal sphincter EMG could be defined that would include all patients with neuropathic abnormalities in the lower sacral segments. However, patients with bladder-emptying difficulties and perineal sensory loss seem to be the most suitable candidates for testing.

Adolescent↗

Superficial peroneal nerve conduction studies for electromyographic diagnosis.

A new standardized surface technique for conduction studies of the superficial peroneal nerve was developed and applied to 35 normal subjects and 63 patients with peroneal mononeuropathies, lumbar radiculopathies, sciatic neuropathies, lumbosacral plexopathies, or peripheral neuropathies. The response amplitude was greater than 5 microV and the response peak latency was less than 4.1 msec in all normal subjects; however, 8.6% of normal subjects had at least one unelicitable superficial peroneal nerve response (6% of all limbs tested). These data were compared with those of previous studies. Although this technique did not improve the diagnosis of peroneal neuropathy, it did distinguish lumbosacral plexopathy and sciatic neuropathy from L5 radiculopathy and served as a second, easily approachable, sensory conduction study of the leg.

Action Potentials↗

Lumbosacral nerve root stimulation comparing electrical with surface magnetic coil techniques.

Stimulation of lumbosacral nerve roots using a monopolar needle electrode was compared with magnetic stimulation using a 7-cm diameter surface coil. Compound muscle action potentials were recorded from the tibialis anterior (TA) and flexor hallucis brevis (FHB) muscles. Although the mean latency of CMAPs did not differ using the two techniques, amplitudes were considerably larger using a needle. Mean amplitudes were 66% (TA) and 64% (FHB) of the direct M response obtained by distal, supramaximal stimulation compared with mean values using maximal magnetic coil stimulation of 36% (TA) and 25% (FHB). Minimum F-wave latencies from FHB were used to estimate the site of nerve root stimulation using both techniques. Although there was a large amount of variability in the data from individual subjects, the results suggested that, on the average, both forms of stimulation act proximal to the intervertebral foramen. We conclude that a needle electrode is a more suitable technique for stimulating lumbosacral nerve roots.

Action Potentials↗

Foot drop as a harbinger of aortic occlusion.

A man presented with foot drop and 2 months later an infrarenal occlusion of his abdominal aorta was discovered. Initial evaluation found no structural etiology for his nerve injury. His neurologic deficits progressed until gangrenous changes developed in his feet leading to the discovery of aortic occlusion. This case demonstrates that peripheral nerve injury in the legs may signal underlying large vessel occlusive disease. We discuss the localization and potential mechanisms of ischemic nerve injury.

Adult↗

Measuring the sensations of urge and bladder filling during cystometry in urge incontinence and the effects of neuromodulation.

AIMS: As urge and urgency contribute greatly to a patient's symptoms, it follows that sensory evaluation combined with noninvasive neuromodulation during urodynamics may provide new criteria for improving patient selection for an implantable stimulator. The purpose of this research was to develop and validate an objective measure of bladder sensations during filling cystometry and then to apply this technique to evaluate the effects of neuromodulation on the sensations of urge measured in this way. METHODS: In study 1 a new patient-activated keypad device was tested during urodynamics to measure bladder sensations according to a 0-4 scale and validated by using a technique adapted from a standard psychophysical sensory threshold testing method. In study 2 the effects of pudendal afferent nerve stimulation on measured sensations of urge were assessed during cystometry with patients as their own controls. Forty-three patients diagnosed with idiopathic detrusor instability were studied; 10 participated in study 1 and 35 in study 2. RESULTS: The new device gave reliable and repeatable measures of sensations with statistically significant differences in bladder volume at each of the urge levels tested (Wilcoxon matched pairs test). Neuromodulation suppressed urinary urge in 89% of the 35 patients. This effect was associated with a statistically significant increase in bladder volume at all urge levels. CONCLUSIONS: A new patient operated key-pad device provided a reliably objective measure of sensations of urge during urodynamics without the need for prompting. Neuromodulation using noninvasive pudendal afferent stimulation suppressed these sensations whilst increasing bladder volume.

Electric Stimulation Therapy↗

Magnetic stimulation of the sacral roots.

Magnetic stimulation using an external surface coil induces an electrodynamic field that penetrates various tissues and stimulates peripheral nerves in a similar fashion to conventional electrical stimulation. An 83 mm magnetic surface coil was used to stimulate 11 spinal cord injury (SCI) patients, during which time detrusor activity and evoked potentials of the striated urinary sphincter motor pathways were evaluated. All patients had urodynamic studies and conventional sacral evoked potentials prior to magnetic stimulation. The mean bladder capacity was 337 ml (range 109-590), mean leak point pressure was 50 cm H2O (range 10-80), and mean sacral reflex (afferent-efferent) latency was 37.9 ms (range 25.1-49.3). Eight patients had detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia. Magnetic stimulation over the sacral spine at different bladder volumes was performed. Detrusor and striated sphincter responses were recorded during stimulation. In all patients the technique was easy and the results were reproducible. The mean sacral motor pathway (efferent) latency was 27.9 ms (range 18.7-39.6). Using maximal stimulation, no detrusor response was recorded at bladder volumes < 200 ml. However, a detrusor response was recorded in 7 patients (> 10 cm H2O in 2, < 10 cm H2O in 5) when the bladder volume was > 200 ml. No complications were seen. Sacral evoked potential measurements assess the function and integrity of the sacral arc but it does not distinguish between afferent and efferent pathways. Magnetic stimulation is a safe and effective method to assess the integrity and function of the detrusor and striated sphincter motor (efferent) pathways. When combined with sacral evoked potential studies, the sensory (afferent) pathways can be evaluated indirectly.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Reduced variance of latencies in pudendal evoked potentials after normalization for body height.

The value of the Somatosensory Evoked Potentials (SEP) in the assessment and detection of neurological disorders could be considerably enhanced if the normative standards of (SEP) characteristic parameters were normalized taking into account all other systematic sources of variance. The present study examines the influence of body height on the peak and interpeak latencies of the pudendal somatosensory evoked potentials. We examined the peak latency (L1) of the evoked potential recorded at the L1 vertebra and the onset latency (ONc) of the cortical evoked potentials, after stimulation of the pudendal nerve, as a function of body height in 40 normal male subjects (age 20-40 years). Significant positive correlation was found between both (ONc) latency and ONc-L1 interpeak latency and body height (H). Assuming that the latter is proportional to the length of the neural pathways, the experimental data were fitted using a theoretical model representing the conduction in the sensory neuraxis as a function of body height. Using the estimated fitting functions, we normalized our data with regard to a typical value of body height. The normalized values of the aforementioned latencies reveal a significantly reduced variance, as compared to the original ones, and consequently their diagnostic importance is significantly increased. Similar procedures applied to the L1 (spinal) latencies and the latencies of the bulbocavernosus reflex (BCR) reveal no correlation with body height and this is discussed on the basis of neuroanatomical considerations.

Adult↗

Sacral versus pudendal nerve stimulation for voiding dysfunction: a prospective, single-blinded, randomized, crossover trial.

AIMS: The objective of the study was to compare sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) to pudendal nerve stimulation (PNS) for voiding dysfunction. METHODS: Thirty subjects with voiding dysfunction had a tined lead placed at S3 and a second electrode implanted at the pudendal nerve via a posterior approach. In a blinded, randomized fashion, each lead was tested for 7 days. Voiding diaries and questionnaires were completed and outcomes monitored. RESULTS: The time to place a sacral lead was 25.85 min, pudendal lead 23.71 min (P = 0.57). Twenty-four of 30 (80%) subjects responded and had a permanent implant placed. PNS was chosen as a superior lead in 79.2%, SNS was superior in 20.8%. The order in which the lead was simulated had no impact on the final lead implanted and no carry over effect was seen. Overall reduction in symptoms was 63% for PNS and 46% for SNS (P = 0.02). On a 7-point scale from markedly worse to markedly better, the pudendal lead was superior to sacral for pelvic pain (P = 0.024), urgency (P = 0.005), frequency (P = 0.007), and bowel function (P = 0.049). Complications were minimal. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first blinded study of sacral versus pudendal stimulation for voiding dysfunction. Successful implantation of a pudendal lead was achieved in all subjects. The majority of subjects chose PNS to be superior to SNS. More patients and longer term data is needed to confirm these promising results.

Adult↗

Sacral Neuromodulation in the Management of Refractory Pediatric Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction.

INTRODUCTION: Sacral neuromodulation is currently used in the pediatric patient population for refractory lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD). Evidence, however, is currently limited for institutional experiences of long-term outcomes for sacral neuromodulation in the pediatric patient population. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to perform a retrospective review of a large multi-institutional cohort of pediatric patients that underwent sacral neuromodulation (SNM) for refractory LUTD, focused on rates of symptom improvement, quality of life, and bowel-bladder dysfunction measures following device implantation. Secondary objectives included assessing device complication rates and device removals due to failure or successful resolution of symptoms. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of pediatric patients at three children's hospitals that underwent SNM device implantation for refractory LUTD. Patients 4-18 years of age who were diagnosed with refractory LUTD and managed at a participating institution with follow-up were included. Outcomes were evaluated at baseline and post-operatively after two-stage device implantation at initial follow-up and annually until device removal or final follow-up. RESULTS: From 2010 to 2022, a total of 205 children underwent SNM procedures at three pediatric hospital centers. 204 patients completed the two-stage procedure for permanent device implantation with a median follow-up of 3.4 years (1.3, 4.9). One hundred seventy-eight patients reported partial (25%) or complete (54%) device response/symptom improvement by final follow-up. Comparison of patient-reported validated questionnaires completed at baseline and by final follow-up visit revealed significant improvement in median Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) (p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.004) and Vancouver Nonneurogenic Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction/Dysfunctional Elimination Syndrome bowel-bladder dysfunction (BBD) scores (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.001). Of those with any device complication (n&#x2009;=&#x2009;43;21%), 19 patients required device revision, and 20 required complete device removal. Separately, twenty-eight patients (13%) underwent device removal due to resolution of symptoms or treatment success at a median period of 5 years (4,7). CONCLUSION: SNM use demonstrated a majority of patients reporting at least partial subjective symptom improvement following device implantation across multiple institutions by final follow-up. SNM is a viable treatment option for refractory LUTD in the pediatric patient if willing to undergo an invasive procedure and in which thorough counseling of risks and benefits has occurred.

Humans↗

Sacral neural crest cell migration to the gut is dependent upon the migratory environment and not cell-autonomous migratory properties.

Avian neural crest cells from the vagal (somite level 1-7) and the sacral (somite level 28 and posterior) axial levels migrate into the gut and differentiate into the neurons and glial cells of the enteric nervous system. Neural crest cells that emigrate from the cervical and thoracic levels stop short of the dorsal mesentery and do not enter the gut. In this study we tested the hypothesis that neural crest cells derived from the sacral level have cell-autonomous migratory properties that allow them to reach and invade the gut mesenchyme. We heterotopically grafted neural crest cells from the sacral axial level to the thoracic level and vice versa and observed that the neural crest cells behaved according to their new position, rather than their site of origin. Our results show that the environment at the sacral level is sufficient to allow neural crest cells from other axial levels to enter the mesentery and gut mesenchyme. Our study further suggests that at least two environmental conditions at the sacral level enhance ventral migration. First, sacral neural crest cells take a ventral rather than a medial-to-lateral path through the somites and consequently arrive near the gut mesenchyme many hours earlier than their counterparts at the thoracic level. Our experimental evidence reveals only a narrow window of opportunity to invade the mesenchyme of the mesentery and the gut, so that earlier arrival assures the sacral neural crest of gaining access to the gut. Second, the gut endoderm is more dorsally situated at the sacral level than at the thoracic level. Thus, sacral neural crest cells take a more direct path to the gut than the thoracic neural crest, and also their target is closer to the site from which they initiate migration. In addition, there appears to be a barrier to migration at the thoracic level that prevents neural crest cells at that axial level from migrating ventral to the dorsal aorta and into the mesentery, which is the portal to the gut.

Animals↗

The recovery of 5-HT immunoreactivity in lumbosacral spinal cord and locomotor function after thoracic hemisection.

To determine the role of serotonin (5-HT) in recovery from spinal cord injury, we examined spinal cord 5-HT immunohistologically and assessed locomotor recovery after thoracic (T8) spinal cord hemisection in 68 rats. Forty eight rats had laminectomy and hemisection, while the remaining 20 rats received laminectomy only. All rats were evaluated every other day for 4 weeks, using a 0-14 point scale open field test. Hemisection markedly reduced mean hindlimbs scores from 14 to 1.5 +/- 0.32 and 5.6 +/- 0.31 (mean +/- standard error of mean) in the ipsilateral and contralateral side, respectively. The rats all recovered apparently normal walking by 4 weeks. The 5-HT immunohistological study revealed a marked reduction of 5-HT-containing terminals in the ipsilateral but not the contralateral lumbosacral cord by 1 week after hemisection. By 4 weeks after hemisection, 5-HT immunoreactive fibers and terminals returned to the ipsilateral lumbosacral cord, with many 5-HT fibers crossing over the central canal at thoracic level. We estimated the recovery of 5-HT neural elements in lumbosacral ventral horn by ranking 5-HT staining intensity and counting 5-HT terminals. The return of 5-HT immunoreactivity of the lumbosacral ventral horn correlated with locomotor recovery. Locomotory recovery invariably occurred when the density of 5-HT terminals approached 20% of control values. These results indicate that return of 5-HT fibers and terminals predict the time course and extent of locomotory recovery after thoracic spinal cord hemisection.

Animals↗

Metastatic malignant glioma with resultant extradural compression of a sacral nerve root.

A patient with a malignant cerebral mixed oligodendroglioma-astrocytoma presented with a severe, painful S-1 radiculopathy. Neuroradiological examinations revealed an extradural soft-tissue mass compressing the first sacral nerve root. Spinal fluid examination and myelography gave no evidence of intradural disease. Surgery confirmed the presence of metastatic glioma compressing the S-1 nerve root. The tumor was entirely epidural in location. Mechanisms of dissemination are discussed.

Adult↗

Characteristics of the output from the dentate nucleus to spinal neurons via pathways which do not involve the primary sensorimotor cortex.

Experiments were performed to determine the action of the dentate output on neurons in the spinal cord mediated by pathways which do not involve the primary sensorimotor and premotor cortices. The dentate nucleus was electrically stimulated by stereotaxically placed electrodes in Rhesus monkeys whose contralateral sensorimotor and premotor cortices were ablated. The resultant changes in excitability of lumbar alpha motorneurons activated by Ia afferents from nerves innervating femoral, hamstring, gastrocnemius-soleus and peroneal muscles were measured by intracellular recordings and by determining the percent change in the amplitude of the monosynaptic reflex recorded from ventral roots. The effect of stimulation of the dentate nucleus on proprioceptive reflexes was determined by recording the changes in postsynaptic potentials evoked by selective stimulation of Ia and Ib afferent fibers. The results demonstrated that dentate nucleus exerts a significant action on the excitability of spinal neurons via pathways which do not include the sensorimotor and premotor cortices. Whether the dentate stimulus produced an increase or decrease in the excitability of these neurons was dependent upon the site within the dentate nucleus at which the stimulus was applied, demonstrating that, in the decorticate preparation, the output from this nucleus is quite heterogeneous. In addition, stimulation of the dentate nucleus in these monkeys did not affect the Ia reflex pathway but significantly changed the amplitude of the inhibitory postsynaptic potential evoked by Ib afferents in lumbar alpha motorneurons.

Animals↗

A study on tension signs in lumbar disc hernia.

The laminae were removed from the lower lumbar spines of five cadavers within four hours of death. A short length of rubber tube was inserted between the nerve roots and the lumbar disc and the tension monitored using semiconductor pressure transducers. The angulatory stresses exerted on the lumbar nerve roots during tension sign tests were found to correspond to clinical experience.

Adolescent↗

Acute retention of urine due to isolated sacral myeloradiculitis.

Two cases of isolated sacral myeloradiculitis are described with retention of urine, sensory disorders in sacral segments and pleocytosis in the CSF. The patients were treated with steroids and recovered after 30 days of treatment. The differential diagnosis and literature are reviewed.

Diagnosis, Differential↗