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At least 1,063 records · Page 59Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Restoration of sensory and motor function in earthworm escape reflex pathways following ventral nerve cord transplantation.

Twelve segments of earthworm ventral nerve cord (VNC) were excised from either segments 10-22 (i.e., within the MGF sensory field) or segments 75-87 (i.e., within the LGF sensory field) in donor worms and heterotopically, or homotopically, transplanted into recipient animals. Morphological evidence indicated that by four days after transplantation, peripheral connections were formed between the transplanted VNC and the body wall of the recipient, many of these connections involving novel pathways projecting ventrally from the transplant. Restoration of giant fiber touch sensitivity in the transplant occurred from 4-14 days after transplantation. Regardless of the site of transplantation, the restored sensitivity (i.e., MGF versus LGF sensory field) always reflected the origin of the donor VNC. Restoration of MGF-mediated motor activity in the transplant occurred approximately 17-22 days after transplantation. In the case of heterotopic transplants (i.e., anterior VNC into posterior segments), the restored MGF-mediated muscle potentials were facilitating, indicating at least some tendency for persistence of this feature after transplantation. Behavioral observations suggested that reconnections involving other reflex pathways (e.g., those controlling setal movements and peristaltic locomotion) were made within the transplant region and that properties of the restored reflexes reflected those of the donor VNC. The rapid restoration of sensory and motor connections, despite heterotopic placement, indicates a significant capacity for peripheral regeneration by the transplanted VNC. On the other hand, the maintenance of various properties of reflex function, despite heterotopic transplantation, suggests a limited capacity for rearrangement of established central connections in the transplanted VNC.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed2002

The effect of quetiapine on psychosis and motor function in parkinsonian patients with and without dementia.

Recently, several small studies have indicated that quetiapine may be useful in the treatment of drug-induced psychosis in patients with PD. However, there have been questions related to atypical antipsychotic therapy and patient selection and how that may affect response and tolerability, especially worsening of the motor symptoms of PD. In particular, the presence or absence of dementia seems to be important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of quetiapine on psychosis and motor symptoms in PD patients with and without dementia. A retrospective record review of patient responses to quetiapine was conducted. Response of psychosis was assessed through patient and caregiver interviews. Motor symptom change in relation to this therapy was assessed by patient and caregiver interviews and completion of the motor portion of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRSm). Analysis was performed by comparing psychosis and motor feature measures from before and after therapy for the group as a whole and for demented and nondemented subgroups, using nonparametric tests and Fisher's exact test. Forty-three consecutively treated PD patients were evaluated. The mean dose of quetiapine was 54 mg per day and the duration of therapy was 10 months. Eighty-one percent of patients demonstrated partial or complete amelioration of psychosis. Five patients (13%) experienced a worsening of PD motor symptoms, which was corroborated by changes seen in UPDRSm. When the group was examined as a whole, no significant change in UPDRSm score was noted. When demented (n = 20) and nondemented (n = 19) patients were compared, improvement in psychosis occurred in similar numbers of patients, but a significant difference in the numbers of patients who experienced a worsening of motor symptoms was seen (P < 0.02, Fisher's exact test). All five patients who complained of motor worsening were in the demented group. UPDRSm score after therapy tended to be worse in the demented group (P = 0.55, Mann-Whitney U test). There was no significant change in the levodopa dose. Approximately 80% of patients chose to continue therapy. We conclude that quetiapine is effective in improving psychosis in approximately 80% of PD patients both with and without dementia. Patients with dementia seem to have a higher propensity for worsening of motor symptoms.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Kinematical analysis of motor function in schizophrenic patients: a possibility to separate negative symptoms from extrapyramidal dysfunction induced by neuroleptics?

BACKGROUND: In this prospective matched case-control study, hand movement analysis was conducted using a digitizing tablet (kinematical analysis). METHODS: The study examined the association of different computer-assessed hand movement variables with clinical pathology (negative symptoms and extrapyramidal motor dysfunction). A sample of 16 schizophrenic patients and 16 healthy controls participated in the study. RESULTS: At baseline, kinematical analysis indicated a significant higher prevalence of subtle hand motor dysfunction in unmedicated schizophrenic patients (who all exhibited clinically no extrapyramidal dysfunction) in comparison to healthy controls. No association between the observed motor signs and pre-enrollment total long-term butyrophenones exposure has been detected. After 14 days treatment with haloperidol, the hand movement variables, which correlated significantly with clinical rating scores reflecting drug-induced extrapyramidal dysfunction could definitely be separated from the hand movement variables with a close association to clinical rating measuring negative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the comparative analysis at baseline confirm previous findings concerning presence of neurological soft signs in unmedicated schizophrenic patients. Furthermore, results of this pilot study suggest that kinematical analysis by means of a digitizing tablet could be a useful approach towards a differentiation between drug-induced akinetic symptoms and disease-induced negative symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Different effects of dopaminergic and anticholinergic therapies on cognitive and motor function in Parkinson's disease. A follow-up study of untreated patients.

The cognitive performance of a group of 82 newly diagnosed patients with Parkinson's disease who had never been treated was reassessed approximately 4 mths after randomization to one of three monotherapies (levodopa, bromocriptine or anticholinergic drugs). Dopaminergic and anticholinergic treatments both led to improvement in motor control but their effects upon cognitive performance dissociated. Anticholinergic drugs produced impairment in processes underlying the immediate registration of information whilst dopaminergic therapy produced improvement on a task dependent on working memory and cognitive sequencing. Other cognitive measures showed no change on treatment. The deficits that were affected by cholinergic and dopaminergic modulation are those that were most compromised in the early, untreated state in Parkinson's disease. The data support the notion that cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease is multifactorial in origin: short-term memory processes are served by both dopaminergic and cholinergic subcortico-frontal systems but much of the cognitive impairment of Parkinson's disease is independent of this subcortical neurochemical pathology and may be due to early neuronal dysfunction within the cerebral cortex.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Comparison of two orogastric feeding markers for measuring gastrointestinal motor functions in rats.

Rat gastrointestinal (GI) transit parameters measured with charcoal and radiochromium were compared. Animals were fed with a calorie-free liquid test meal which contained 10% charcoal and radiochromium (0.5 microCi ml-1) via a transiently placed orogastric catheter. The rats were sacrificed at 1, 5, 15, 30, 60 and 120 min, respectively, since feeding. Various motor parameters were measured. Charcoal transit ratio, gastric emptying and geometric center were time dependent. Charcoal transit ratio occasionally showed a positive correlation with gastric emptying in the very late experimental periods. Concerning the correlation of charcoal transit ratio and geometric center, negative and positive correlations were seen in the very early and late periods, respectively. We conclude that the rat charcoal transit ratio has limited value to replace the GI transit parameters determined by feeding radiochromium.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Improved motor function of denervated rat hindlimb muscles induced by embryonic spinal cord grafts.

Loss of motoneurons results in a decrease in force production by skeletal muscles and paralysis. Although it has been shown that missing motoneurons of rats can be replaced by embryonic homotopic neurons, attempts to guide their axons to their target muscles that have lost their innervation have been unsuccessful. In this study attempts were made to guide axons from grafted embryonic motoneurons to their target via a reimplanted ventral root. Adult hosts that received an embryonic graft prelabelled with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine had their L4 ventral root avulsed and reimplanted into the spinal cord. Three to six months later, neurons that had their axons in the L4 ventral ramus were retrogradely labelled with fast blue and diamidino yellow. In five animals that had received an embryonic graft 116 +/- 16 cells were retrogradely labelled, and of these at least 15% were of graft origin, since they were positive for 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine. In five animals that had their L4 ventral root reimplanted but did not receive a graft, only 12 +/- 1.3 cells were retrogradely labelled. However, meaningful functional recovery could be achieved only if the regenerating axons of embryonic motoneurons found in the L4 ventral ramus were able to reverse the loss of force of muscles that had lost their innervation. This study shows that axons of embryonic motoneurons grafted into an adult rat spinal cord, as well as some axons of host origin, can be guided to denervated hindlimb muscles via reimplanted lumbar ventral roots. In normal rats approximately 30 motor axons innervated the extensor digitorum longus and 60 innervated the tibialis anterior via the L4 ventral root. In rats that did not receive a graft only 3.7 +/- 1.2 axons reached the extensor digitorum longus and 3.5 +/- 0.4 reached the tibialis anterior muscle via the implanted L4 ventral root. In animals that had an embryonic graft, 7.6 +/- 0.5 axons innervated the extensor digitorum longus and 8.5 +/- 0.5 reached the tibialis anterior muscle via the implanted root. In rats without a transplant the maximum tetanic tension elicited by stimulating the implanted L4 root was 16 +/- 7 g for the extensor digitorum longus and 53 +/- 36 g for the tibialis anterior muscle, whereas the corresponding muscles in animals that had an embryonic graft developed 82 +/- 16 and 281 +/- 95 g respectively. Thus it appears that the grafted motoneurons contributed to the innervation and functional recovery of the denervated muscles.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Impaired motor function (clumsiness) in 5 year old children: correlation with neonatal ultrasound scans.

All 155 surviving children from a cohort of 200 very low birthweight infants originally studied in 1984-5 were traced. These infants had careful sequential ultrasound examinations in the neonatal period. The children were examined again at entry into school at 5 years of age. The test of motor impairment (TOMI) and the vocabulary subscale of the Wechsler preschool and primary scale of intelligence (WPPSI) were administered to 152 of the index cohort and 144 control children of the same age in the same class at school. Twelve of the cohort had cerebral palsy, but eight of these were in mainstream schools. The index group scored significantly higher on both the TOMI and the WPPSI subscale compared with the controls. The index cases were subdivided on the basis of their neonatal ultrasound scans into four groups: group 1, consistently normal; group 2, 'prolonged flare'; group 3, germinal matrix haemorrhage-intraventricular haemorrhage (GMH-IVH), without parenchymal haemorrhage, but no evidence of prolonged flare; and group 4, both GMH-IVH and prolonged flare. The group of index children with consistently normal ultrasound scans had a higher TOMI and lower WPPSI compared with their controls. There was a statistically significant increase in the TOMI subscore 1 (manual dexterity) in group 4 infants compared with group 1, but not differences between the other groups. Regression analysis suggests that neither prolonged flare nor GMH-IVH has an important individual contribution to the variation, but the low birth weight does have a significant relationship with motor impairment. It appears that relatively minor ultrasound appearances such as prolonged flare and GMH-IVH are associated with motor impairment (clumsiness) at 5 years, but this has a small effect compared with low birth weight.

Cerebral Palsy↗
PubMed1991

Recovery of motor function after spinal-cord injury--a randomized, placebo-controlled trial with GM-1 ganglioside.

BACKGROUND: Spinal-cord injury is devastating; until recently, there was no medical treatment to improve recovery of the initial neurologic deficit. Studies in animals have shown that monosialotetrahexosylganglioside (GM-1) ganglioside enhances the functional recovery of damaged neurons. METHODS: A prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of GM-1 ganglioside was conducted in patients with spinal-cord injuries. Of 37 patients entered into the study, 34 (23 with cervical injuries and 11 with thoracic injuries) completed the test-drug protocol (100 mg of GM-1 sodium salt or placebo intravenously per day for 18 to 32 doses, with the first dose taken within 72 hours of the injury) and a one-year follow-up period. Neurologic recovery was assessed with the Frankel scale (comprising five categories) and the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) motor score (a scale of scores from 0 to 100, derived from strength tests of 20 specific muscles, each scored from 0 to 5). RESULTS: There was a significant difference between groups in the distribution of improvement of Frankel grades from base line to the one-year follow-up (improvement of 0, 1, 2, and 3 grades in 13, 4, 1, and 0 patients, respectively, in the placebo group and 8, 1, 6, and 1 patients, respectively, in the GM-1 group; P = 0.034 by the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test). The GM-1-treated patients also had a significantly greater mean improvement in ASIA motor score from base line to the one-year follow-up than the placebo-treated patients (36.9 vs. 21.6 points; P = 0.047 by analysis of covariance with the base-line ASIA motor score as the covariate). An analysis of individual muscle recoveries revealed that the increased recovery in the GM-1 group was attributable to initially paralyzed muscles that regained useful motor strength rather than to strengthening of paretic muscles. CONCLUSIONS: This small study provides evidence that GM-1 enhances the recovery of neurologic function after one year. A larger study must be conducted, however, before GM-1 is considered efficacious and safe in treating spinal-cord injury.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Are functional motor and sensory symptoms really more frequent on the left? A systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: To test the hypothesis that unilateral motor and sensory symptoms unexplained by identifiable disease are more common on the left side of the body than the right. METHODS: Systematic review of the literature published since 1965. RESULTS: 121 eligible studies, involving 1139 patients, were analysed. The pooled proportion of functional left sided weakness and sensory symptoms in adults was 58% (95% confidence interval (CI) 55 to 61%). A much higher proportion of left sided symptoms (66%, 95% CI 61 to 71%) was found in studies where laterality featured in the title of the paper. However, when laterality was not mentioned in the title, no significant difference between left and right was observed (53% on the left, 95% CI 48 to 57%). This difference could not be explained on the basis of sex differences between the groups or the date of the study. Functional or "psychogenic" movement disorder was right sided in 68% (95% CI 61 to 75%). Handedness did not influence symptom lateralisation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this systematic review question whether functional weakness and sensory symptoms do in fact occur more commonly on the left side of the body. A type of outcome variable reporting bias in combination with non-blinding of investigators may be responsible for this long held but erroneous belief.

Aged↗
PubMed1977

Ocular-motor function and information processing: implications for the reading process.

This paper discusses the dichotomy between continually moving eyes and the lack of blurred visual experience. A discontinuous model of visual perception is proposed, with the discontinuities being phase and temporally related to saccadic eye movements. It is further proposed that deviant duration and angular velocity characteristics of saccades in patients with hypertonic motor impairment relate to information processing defects. Stabilized retinal image procedures, which control for the effects of eye movements, significantly increase the ability of these patients actively to recall information presented for periods of less than three sec. A model of the reading process is presented based on these findings that addresses itself to the specific components of an interactions between eye movement, information transmission and information processing.

Alpha Rhythm↗
PubMed2004

Transient blockade of the CD11d/CD18 integrin reduces secondary damage after spinal cord injury, improving sensory, autonomic, and motor function.

The early inflammatory response to spinal cord injury (SCI) causes significant secondary damage. Strategies that nonselectively suppress inflammation have not improved outcomes after SCI, perhaps because inflammation has both adverse and beneficial effects after SCI. We have shown that the selective, time-limited action of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) to the CD11d subunit of the CD11d/CD18 integrin, delivered intravenously during the first 48 hr after SCI in rats, markedly decreases the infiltration of neutrophils and delays the entry of hematogenous monocyte-macrophages into the injured cord. We hypothesized that this targeted strategy would lead to neuroprotection and improved neurological outcomes. In this study the development of chronic pain was detected in rats by assessing mechanical allodynia on the trunk and hindpaws 2 weeks to 3 months after a clinically relevant clip-compression SCI at the twelfth thoracic segment. The anti-CD11d mAb treatment reduced this pain by half. Motor performance also improved as rats were able to plantar-place their hindpaws and use them for weight support instead of sweeping movements only. Improved cardiovascular outcome was shown after SCI at the fourth thoracic segment by significant decreases in autonomic dysreflexia. Locomotor performance was also improved. These functional changes correlated with significantly greater amounts and increased organization of myelin and neurofilament near the lesion. The improved neurological recovery after the specific reduction of early inflammation after SCI demonstrates that this selective strategy increases tissue at the injury site and improves its functional capacity. This early neuroprotective treatment would be an ideal foundation for building later cell-based therapies.

Animals↗