OBJECTIVE: To find evidence of autonomic imbalance and present the heart rate variability (HRV) parameters that reflect the severity of paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity (PSH) in children with acquired brain injury (ABI). METHODS: Thirteen children with ABI were enrolled and age- and sex-matched children with cerebral palsy were selected as the control group (n=13). The following HRV parameters were calculated: time-domain indices including the mean heart rate, standard deviation of all average R-R intervals (SDNN), root mean square of the successive differences (RMSSD), physical stress index (PSI), approximate entropy (ApEn); successive R-R interval difference (SRD), and frequency domain indices including total power (TP), high frequency (HF), low frequency (LF), normalized HF, normalized LF, and LF/HF ratio. RESULTS: There were significant differences between the ABI and control groups in the mean heart rate, RMSSD, PSI and all indices of the frequency domain analysis. The mean heart rate, PSI, normalized LF, and LF/HF ratio increased in the ABI group. The presence of PSH symptoms in the ABI group demonstrated a statistically significant decline of the SDNN, TP, ln TP. CONCLUSION: The differences in the HRV parameters and presence of PSH symptoms are noted among ABI children compared to an age- and sex-matched control group with cerebral palsy. Within the ABI group, the presence of PSH symptoms influenced the parameters of HRV such as SDNN, TP and ln TP.
Autonomic Nervous System ; Brain Injuries* ; Brain* ; Cerebral Palsy ; Child* ; Entropy ; Heart Rate* ; Heart* ; Humans ; Parasympathetic Nervous System ; Sympathetic Nervous System

The genital organ is innervated by autonomic and somatic nerve. The former is both sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve and the later is comprised by sensory and motor fibers. The symptoms of male sexual dysfunction are sexopathy, erectile dysfunction, disorder of ejaculation and orgasm, and pianism. Not only different symptom but the same symptom can be induced by different injured nerve. The relationship between peripheral nerve injury and male sexual dysfunction should be understood correctly.
Erectile Dysfunction/etiology* ; Humans ; Male ; Parasympathetic Nervous System/injuries* ; Pelvis/innervation* ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries ; Peripheral Nerves/anatomy & histology* ; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological/etiology* ; Spinal Cord Injuries/complications* ; Sympathetic Nervous System/injuries* ; Trauma, Nervous System/complications*

This study was undertaken to determine the cardiovascular response to the spinal cord trauma in cats and to determine the autonomic mechnisms involved. The electrocardiogram and arterial blood pressure were recorded in anesthetized cats after the spinal cord trauma of 500 gm-cm at T4-T6 levels. 1. Acute spinal cord trauma caused a wide variety of severe cardiac arrhythmias and acute hypertension. 2. The increase of blood pressure could be prevented by intravenous phenoxybenzamine, and alpha adrenergic blocking agent. The pressor response was mediated by the alpha adrenergic receptor sites of the peripheral nervous system. 3. Tachycardia was occurred by the administration of atropine and bilateral vagotomy before trauma without affecting pressor response. 4. The arrhythmias could be eliminated by the combined administration of propranolol and atropine, but not prevented by the administration of either propranolol or atropine without affecting pressor response. These results suggest that the arrhythmias might be a response of hyperactivity of both sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system.
Animals ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac* ; Arterial Pressure ; Atropine ; Autonomic Nervous System ; Blood Pressure ; Cats* ; Electrocardiography ; Hypertension ; Parasympathetic Nervous System ; Peripheral Nervous System ; Phenoxybenzamine ; Propranolol ; Receptors, Adrenergic ; Spinal Cord Injuries* ; Spinal Cord* ; Sympathetic Nervous System ; Tachycardia ; Vagotomy