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Background: Surface electromyography (EMG) is a noninvasive, accurate method to measure electrical activity produced in muscles.
Aim: To assess the improvement of spasticity after decompressive surgery for compressive myelopathy using surface EMG.
Setting And Design: Neurophysiology laboratory of a tertiary care center. Before-after trial. Both EMG and Modified Modified Ashworth Scale (MMAS) were utilized.
Materials And Methods: Thirty-one nonconsecutive patients (28 males; age 25-72 years) with compressive cervical myelopathy and spasticity (MMAS score ≥1) were recruited. Patients with lower motor neuron findings, Nurick grade 5, and those with joint deformities, contractures, or thrombophlebitis of the upper limbs were excluded. EMG activity was measured from the pronator teres and biceps brachii for 31 age-related controls (25 males) as well as for the patients both pre- and post-operatively.
Statistical Analysis: Student's t-test for comparison of continuous variables and Pearson correlation co-efficient for assessing the significance of associations.
Results: EMG recording done 1-week postoperatively showed a reduction in baseline activity in the pronators and supinators by 21% and 36%, respectively. There was a decrease in co-activation of the pronators during active supination by almost 62% and of the supinators during active pronation by around 33% (P < 0.05). On passive movement, there was a decrease in co-activation of the pronators during supination by approximately 23%, and the supinators during pronation by 35% (P < 0.05). EMG activity was significantly reduced in the pronators during supination in all patients, including those in whom the MMAS scores remained the same postoperatively.
Conclusion: Surface EMG is an objective tool to detect improvement in spasticity following decompressive surgery for compressive cervical myelopathy even in those patients who showed no improvement on the MMAS.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0028-3886.170071 | DOI Listing |
JAMA Cardiol
September 2025
Department of Cardiology, Inselspital University Hospital of Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Importance: Right anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery (R-AAOCA) is a rare congenital condition increasingly diagnosed with the growing use of cardiac imaging. Due to dynamic compression of the anomalous vessel, invasive fractional flow reserve (FFR) during a dobutamine-atropine volume challenge (FFR-dobutamine) is considered the reference standard. A reliable alternative method is needed to reduce extensive invasive testing, but it remains uncertain whether noninvasive imaging can accurately assess the hemodynamic relevance of R-AAOCA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytopathology
September 2025
Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India.
Mediastinal masses often present acutely as medical emergencies, necessitating prompt and accurate diagnosis. Imaging-guided fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) plays a pivotal role in rapidly identifying rare mediastinal tumours and differentiating them from other potential aetiologies, enabling timely intervention. Primary mediastinal germ cell tumours (PMGCTs) constitute approximately 15% of adult mediastinal neoplasms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Oncol
August 2025
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Introduction: Synovial sarcoma (SS) is one of the most prevalent malignant soft tissue sarcomas in children and adolescents. Pediatric populations often present with atypical features, complicating the differentiation from benign intramuscular venous malformations (VMs).
case Presentation: An 11-year-old male with a four-year history of progressive right plantar pain and a compressible intramuscular mass.
Brain Spine
January 2025
Department of Neurosurgery, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Purpose: Isolated spinal aneurysms (iSAs) are rare, with an uncertain natural history and no established treatment guidelines. Multiple iSAs are even more uncommon, complicating treatment decisions.
Methods: This study reports a case of a ruptured radiculo-pial artery aneurysm in a patient with multiple iSAs, treated with surgical excision, assisted by intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM).
Med Sci Monit
September 2025
Department of Orthopedics, Ansteel General Hospital, Anshan, Liaoning, China.
BACKGROUND Degenerative cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is an age-related degenerative condition of the vertebral bodies, discs, and ligaments that can cause pressure on the spinal cord and nerves. Anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion is a widely used surgical approach for treating CSM, aiming to decompress the spinal cord, restore vertebral alignment, and improve fusion rates, thus providing relief to affected patients. This study was a neurological and biomechanical evaluation of 72 patients with degenerative CSM at 3, 6, and 12 months following anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion.
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