Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0026838 (spasticity)
 6,471 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A case of spinal dumbbell shaped melanotic schwannoma was reported. A 58-year-old housewife had a 3-months history of progressive gait disturbance. She also complained of mild backache and numbness in both legs. Her family history was not remarkable. When examined on admission, October 10, 1982, mild weakness of both legs with spasticity and sensory impairment below the level of T10 dermatome without sacral sparing were evident. Her deep tendon reflexes were hyperactive on both sides and plantar responses were extensor bilaterally. Sphincteric disturbance was not significant. The function of her cranial nerves was intact. She had neither cutaneous lesions, abdominal mass nor organomegaly. Thoracic plain X-rays revealed erosion of the right side vertebral body and pedicle of the 10th thoracic vertebra. Myelography disclosed a complete block at the same level by an epidural mass. On CT-myelogram, soft tissue density mass compressing the thoracic cord was apparent in the right epidural space of the spinal canal which extended to the paravertebral region through the right intervertebral foramen. Partial destruction of the body and the right side pedicle was easily recognized. Laminectomy from T9 to T11 exposed a large extradural mass which was encapsulated, elastic soft and pigmented in nature. The tumor was dumbbell shaped and extended to the right paravertebral region through the intervertebral foramen. Costotransversectomy was performed to excise the mass entirely. Following the total removal of the tumor, internal fixation was carried out by means of Harrington instrumentation with methylmethacrylate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[Spinal melanotic schwannoma: report of a case]. 306 Jul 51

A 30-year-old black man presented sudden-onset paraplegia during a foot-ball match, after a movement of hyperextension of the trunk. Moreover, the patient exhibited an hypoesthesia below the T11 level, with sphincter disturbances. The MRI and the CT-scan showed a stenosis of the spinal canal related to an ossification of hypertrophied ligamenta flava from T10 to T12. Intramedullary abnormal signals on MRI images were compatible with a spinal cord hemorrhage. A laminectomy with removal of abnormal ligamenta flava was carried out, and their endochondral ossification was confirmed by pathological examination. Two months later, the patient was able to walk alone and exhibited a mild spasticity associated to sensory disturbances of lower limbs. Ossification of ligamenta flava is usually observed in Japanese patients, sometimes in Caucasians, more rarely in black people. Its mechanism is unclear except when associated with metabolic or endocrine diseases. The patients usually present with clinical features of chronic spinal cord compression. Our case seems to be the first one disclosed by an acute spinal cord injury on ossified ligamenta flava. In this patient, because of remaining adjacent ossified ligamenta flava and the development on postoperative MRI of an intramedullary cavity, a long-term clinical and radiological follow-up is particularly necessary.
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PMID:[Ossification of ligamentum flavum unmasked by acute paraplegia]. 1191 18

Spinal extradural meningeal cysts are typically formed by a thin fibrotic membranous capsule, macroscopically similar that of an arachnoid membrane, filled by cerebro spinal fluid and related to a nerve root or to the posterior midline. Ventral location is extremely rare and when it occurs they usually cause spinal cord herniation through the ventral dural gap. A 61 year-old man who began with a two years long history of insidious tetraparesis, spasticity and hyperreflexia in lower extremities, and flaccid atrophy of upper limbs, without sensory manifestations, is presented. Investigation through magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated an extensive spinal ventral extradural cystic collection from C6 to T11. The lesion was approached through a laminectomy and a cyst-peritoneal shunt was introduced. The cyst reduced in size significantly and the patient is asymptomatic over a 48 months follow-up. This is the first reported case of a spontaneous ventral extradural spinal meningeal cyst causing cord compression. Cyst-peritoneal shunt was effective in the treatment of the case and it should be considered in cases in which complete resection of the cyst is made more difficult or risky by the need of more aggressive surgical maneuvers.
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PMID:Ventral extradural spinal meningeal cyst causing cord compression: neurosurgical treatment. 1625 70

Continuous epidural stimulation of lumbar posterior root afferents can modify the activity of lumbar cord networks and motoneurons, resulting in suppression of spasticity or elicitation of locomotor-like movements in spinal cord-injured people. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate that posterior root afferents can also be depolarized by transcutaneous stimulation with moderate stimulus intensities. In healthy subjects, single stimuli applied through surface electrodes placed over the T11-T12 vertebrae with a mean intensity of 28.6 V elicited simultaneous, bilateral monosynaptic reflexes in quadriceps, hamstrings, tibialis anterior, and triceps surae by depolarization of lumbosacral posterior root fibers. The nature of these posterior root-muscle reflexes was demonstrated by the duration of the refractory period, and by modifying the responses with vibration and active and passive movements. Stimulation over the L4-L5 vertebrae selectively depolarized posterior root fibers or additionally activated anterior root fibers within the cauda equina depending on stimulus intensity. Transcutaneous posterior root stimulation with single pulses allows neurophysiological studies of state- and task-dependent modulations of monosynaptic reflexes at multiple segmental levels. Continuous transcutaneous posterior root stimulation represents a novel, non-invasive, neuromodulative approach for individuals with different neurological disorders.
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PMID:Posterior root-muscle reflexes elicited by transcutaneous stimulation of the human lumbosacral cord. 1711 11

The objective of this prospective cohort study was to investigate alterations in body composition variables and spasticity following subtetanic neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) training in an adult population with spinal cord injury (SCI). Fourteen sedentary adults with SCI (thoracic [T]4-T11; American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale A/B; time since injury: 10.17 +/- 11.17 yr) were recruited from the National SCI database. Four adhesive electrodes (175 cm2 each) were placed bilaterally on the proximal and distal quadriceps and hamstrings muscle groups and subtetanic contractions were elicited using a handheld NMES device. Lean body mass (LBM) and other body composition variables were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Spasticity was measured using the Spinal Cord Assessment Tool for Spastic Reflexes (SCATs) and visual analog scales. Verbal and written feedback was obtained to subjectively evaluate spasticity. LBM and spasticity measurements were taken before and after an 8 wk NMES training program in order to assess change. A statistically significant increase in lower-limb LBM, i.e., muscle tissue (p > 0.001), and a reduction in SCATs (p < 0.001) score, indicating reduced spasticity, was observed. Subjective responses were positive. Improvements in body composition and SCATs scores indicate that subtetanic NMES training elicits favorable responses and may have important clinical implications for an SCI population.
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PMID:Alterations in body composition and spasticity following subtetanic neuromuscular electrical stimulation training in spinal cord injury. 2376 Oct

Compressive lesions of the spinal cord usually cause a syndrome of upper motor neurone weakness, spasticity and sensory loss below the level of the lesion. It has long been recognised that compressive cervical cord lesions may present as isolated lower motor neurone weakness of the upper limbs, a syndrome termed cervical spondylotic amyotrophy. We describe two patients presenting with isolated lower motor neurone weakness of the lower limbs in association with a compressive cord lesion at T11/12, a condition we have termed thoracic spondylotic amyotrophy.
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PMID:Can compressive thoracic cord lesions cause a pure lower motor neurone syndrome? 3028 63