Blink reflex in hypothyroidism

WOS: 000246828800003Aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of the blink reflex as a method for obtaining an early diagnosis of central nervous system dysfunction in hypothyroid patients who do not have signs or symptoms of nervous system dysfunction. Materials and Methods: Forty-two patients (3 males, 39 females), mean age 40 (+/- 11), with newly diagnosed primary hypothyroidism and 30 healthy control subjects were included in the study. In all patients, the cause of hypothyroidism was chronic autoimmune thyroiditis. For blink reflex testing, subjects lay supine on a bed in a warm room with eyes gently closed. Recordings were performed with an EMG machine (Nihon Kohden/Neuropack), with a filter setting of 20 Hz to 10 kHz, using an analysis time of 50 ms. Recordings were performed with surface recording electrodes (Dantec 13K60, Copenhagen, Denmark). Results: Second ipsilateral response (R2Y) and second contralateral response (R2C) latencies in hypothyroidism were prolonged relative to controls, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). Latency of R1, R2Y, and R2C did not correlate with free T3, free T4, or TSH values in the hypothyroid group. Conclusion: The finding of abnormal blink reflex responses in hypothyroid individuals raises the notion that they may be useful in detecting early changes and in the follow-up of the patients with the disorder

Whole blood viscosity and cerebral blood flow velocities in obese hypertensive or obese normotensive adolescents.

Abstract Background: Obesity affects all major organ systems and leads to increased morbidity and mortality. Whole blood viscosity is an important independent regulator of cerebral blood flow. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of whole blood viscosity on cerebral artery blood flow velocities using transcranial Doppler ultrasound in pediatric patients with obesity compared to healthy controls and analyze the effect of whole blood viscosity and blood pressure status to the cerebral artery blood flow velocities. Methods: Sixty patients with obesity diagnosed according to their body mass index (BMI) percentiles aged 13–18 years old were prospectively enrolled. They were grouped as hypertensive or normotensive according to their ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Whole blood viscosity and middle cerebral artery velocities by transcranial Doppler ultrasound were studied and compared to 20 healthy same aged controls. Results: Whole blood viscosity values in hypertensive (0.0619 ± 0.0077 poise) and normotensive (0.0607 ± 0.0071 poise) groups were higher than controls (0.0616 ± 0.0064 poise), with no significance. Middle cerebral artery blood flow velocities were higher in the obese hypertensive (73.9 ± 15.0 cm/s) and obese normotensive groups (75.2 ± 13.5 cm/s) than controls (66.4 ± 11.5 cm/s), but with no statistical significance. Conclusions: Physiological changes in blood viscosity and changes in blood pressure did not seem to have any direct effect on cerebral blood flow velocities, the reason might be that the cerebral circulation is capable of adaptively modulating itself to changes to maintain a uniform cerebral blood flow. Keywords: adolescents; cerebral blood flow; children; hypertension; obesity; whole blood viscosity

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension: Before and After Treatment

Background: This study aimed to identify the reversibility of MRI findings indicative of increased intracranial hypertension in idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) patients after treatment. Methods: This retrospective, observational study included demographic and clinical data from 10 patients with IIH and 10 controls. Brain MRI findings in IIH patients were recorded twice: once when patients had papilledema and again after resolution of papilledema. Neuroradiologists graded MRI findings in both groups based on an imaging grading scale. Results: After resolution of papilledema, all patients showed improvement in 2 or more of the MRI characteristics of IIH. This was especially the case for the height of the midsagittal pituitary gland and optic nerve sheath thickness (ONST), which were significantly different in all pairwise group comparisons. Sellar configuration, globe configuration, and horizontal orbital optic nerve tortuosity were different between the IIH pre-treatment group and controls, but not between controls and the IIH post-treatment group. We found no difference in optic nerve head hyperintensity or optic nerve thickness among the 3 groups. Conclusions: We demonstrated that several morphometric MRI characteristics in IIH are reversible to a certain extent after treatment. Enlarged subarachnoid spaces filled with cerebrospinal fluid seem to remain reduced, and the ONST and height of the pituitary gland are not fully normalized after treatment

Relationship between lower extremity isometric muscle strength and standing balance in patients with multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND: Muscle strength and standing balance decrease in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Olfactory functioning in early multiple sclerosis: Sniffin' Sticks Test study.

Previous studies have shown that olfactory functioning is affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). This study assessed the level of the olfactory impairment in early MS by using the Sniffin' Sticks Test