1. Spinal cord stimulation improves motor function and gait in spastic paraplegia type 4 (SPG4): Clinical and neurophysiological evaluation
- Author
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Erich Talamoni Fonoff, Carelis González-Salazar, Orlando Graziani Povoas Barsottini, Carolina Pinto Souza, José Luiz Pedroso, Marcondes Cavalcante França Junior, Daniel Boari Coelho, Debora S. F. Campos, Edrin Claro de Oliveira Vicente, and Maria Gabriela dos Santos Ghilardi
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Hereditary spastic paraplegia ,Isometric exercise ,Motor Activity ,Severity of Illness Index ,Continuous passive motion ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Physical medicine and rehabilitation ,medicine ,Spastic ,Humans ,Spasticity ,Gait Disorders, Neurologic ,Paraplegia ,Spinal Cord Stimulation ,Spastic Paraplegia, Hereditary ,business.industry ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Gait ,nervous system diseases ,030104 developmental biology ,Neurology ,Gait analysis ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,Geriatrics and Gerontology ,medicine.symptom ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Introduction Hereditary spastic paraplegia is a heterogeneous group of genetic disorders characterized by degeneration of the corticospinal tracts, coursing with progressive weakness and spasticity of the lower limbs. To date, there are no effective treatments for progressive deficits or disease-modifying therapy for those patients. We report encouraging results for spastic paraparesis after spinal cord stimulation. Methods A 51-year-old woman suffering from progressive weakness and spasticity in lower limbs related to hereditary spastic paraplegia type 4 underwent spinal cord stimulation (SCS) and experienced also significant improvement in motor function. Maximum ballistic voluntary isometric contraction test, continuous passive motion test and gait analysis using a motion-capture system were performed in ON and OFF SCS conditions. Neurophysiologic assessment consisted of obtaining motor evoked potentials in both conditions. Results Presurgical Spastic Paraplegia Rating Scale (SPRS) score was 26. One month after effective SCS was initiated, SPRS went down to 15. At 12 months follow up, she experienced substantial improvement in motor function and in gait performance, with SPRS scores 23 (OFF) and down to 20 (ON). There was an increased isometric muscle strength (knee extension, OFF: 41 N m; ON: 71 N m), lower knee extension and flexion torque values in continuous passive motion test (decrease in spastic tone) and improvement in gait (for example, step length increase). Conclusion Despite being a case study, our findings suggest innovative lines of research for the treatment of spastic paraplegia.
- Published
- 2021
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