Neuropathic pain can be divided into sympathetically maintained pain (SMP) and sympathetically independent pain (SIP). Rats with tibial and sural nerve transection (TST) produce neuropathic pain behaviors, including spontaneous pain, tactile allodynia, and cold allodynia. The present study was undertaken to examine whether rats with TST would represent SMP- or SIP-dominant neuropathic pain by lumbar surgical sympathectomy. The TST model was generated by transecting the tibial and sural nerves, leaving the common peroneal nerve intact. Animals were divided into the sympathectomy group and the sham group. For the sympathectomy group, the sympathetic chain was removed bilaterally from L2 to L6 one week after nerve transection. The success of the sympathectomy was verified by measuring skin temperature on the hind paw and by infra red thermography. Tactile allodynia was assessed using von Frey filaments, and cold allodynia was assessed using acetone drops. A majority of the rats exhibited withdrawal behaviors in response to tactile and cold stimulations after nerve stimulation. Neither tactile allodynia nor cold allodynia improved after successful sympathectomy, and there were no differences in the threshold of tactile and cold allodynia between the sympathectomy and sham groups. Tactile allodynia and cold allodynia in the neuropathic pain model of TST are not dependent on the sympathetic nervous system, and this model can be used to investigate SIP syndromes.
Tibial Neuropathy/*classification/physiopathology ; Tibial Nerve/*injuries ; Sympathectomy ; Sural Nerve/*injuries ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; Neuralgia/*classification/diagnosis ; *Models, Animal ; Male ; Animals

Neuropathic pain can be divided into sympathetically maintained pain (SMP) and sympathetically independent pain (SIP). Rats with tibial and sural nerve transection (TST) produce neuropathic pain behaviors, including spontaneous pain, tactile allodynia, and cold allodynia. The present study was undertaken to examine whether rats with TST would represent SMP- or SIP-dominant neuropathic pain by lumbar surgical sympathectomy. The TST model was generated by transecting the tibial and sural nerves, leaving the common peroneal nerve intact. Animals were divided into the sympathectomy group and the sham group. For the sympathectomy group, the sympathetic chain was removed bilaterally from L2 to L6 one week after nerve transection. The success of the sympathectomy was verified by measuring skin temperature on the hind paw and by infra red thermography. Tactile allodynia was assessed using von Frey filaments, and cold allodynia was assessed using acetone drops. A majority of the rats exhibited withdrawal behaviors in response to tactile and cold stimulations after nerve stimulation. Neither tactile allodynia nor cold allodynia improved after successful sympathectomy, and there were no differences in the threshold of tactile and cold allodynia between the sympathectomy and sham groups. Tactile allodynia and cold allodynia in the neuropathic pain model of TST are not dependent on the sympathetic nervous system, and this model can be used to investigate SIP syndromes.
Tibial Neuropathy/*classification/physiopathology ; Tibial Nerve/*injuries ; Sympathectomy ; Sural Nerve/*injuries ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; Neuralgia/*classification/diagnosis ; *Models, Animal ; Male ; Animals

Either proximal tibial or tibial physeal injuries are rare. The combination of both is even rarer, let alone causes a vascular injury. Early intervention is the key for management. We hereby present an interesting case of simultaneous proximal tibiofibular physeal injury with popliteal arterial occlusion and common peroneal nerve injury. The present case is important in two aspects: firstly it reports a very rare occurrence of simultaneous proximal tibiofibular physeal injury associated with vascular insult and common peroneal nerve injury; secondly it highlights that with timely intervention excellent results can be achieved in paediatric patients.
Adolescent ; Fibula ; injuries ; Fractures, Bone ; complications ; Humans ; Male ; Peroneal Nerve ; injuries ; Popliteal Artery ; injuries ; Tibial Fractures ; complications

Dysesthetic pain syndrome is a common disabling painful sequelae of spinal cord injury patients. The purposes of this study were to gather the general informations of pain in spinal cord injury patients and to investigate the correlation between the various factors affecting pain severity. Twenty-seven spinal cord injury patients with dysesthetic pain were evaluated by medical histories, physical and neurological examinations. The pain intensity was measured by a visual analogue scale. Twenty-one subjects were males and six were females. The mean age of patients was 35.1 years. The patients were classified into five pain categories : diffuse pain, segmental pain, root pain, visceral pain, and non-neurogenic pain. Nineteen patients (70.4%) were categorized into diffuse pain group, six patients (22.2%) into both diffuse and segmental pain group, two patients (7.4%) into root pain group and five patients (18.5%) into perianal pain group. According to this study, the only significant factor affecting the severity of dysesthetic pain in spinal cord injury patients was the severity of spinal cord injury. Pain appeared earlier and more intensely in the complete spinal cord injury patients. There was no correlation between the severity of pain and the level of lesion, age, or the posterior tibial nerve SEP response.
Female ; Humans ; Male ; Neurologic Examination ; Spinal Cord Injuries* ; Spinal Cord* ; Tibial Nerve ; Visceral Pain

The aim of this study was to propose new more reliable peripheral nerve transection model to overcome the defect of the traditional sciatic axotomy model by specifically transecting L5 spinal nerve just after emerging from the intervertebral foramen and confining analysis area to the L5 spinal segment. The adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 300~350 g at the time of surgery, were used for the experiments. Four different experimental groups were used. 1. Sciatic nerve transection (Sc-Tx) group: transect the sciatic nerve in the popliteal fossa where it divided into the common peroneal nerve and tibial nerve. 2. L5 spinal nerve transection (L5-Tx) group: L5 spinal nerve was specifically transected. 3. Suture (Su) group: L5 spinal nerve was transected and immediately sutured. 4. Control group: the same surgical procedure with L5 spinal nerve transection group was performed except for the excision of L5 spinal nerve. To distinguish L5 motoneurons from the other level ones, the animals were received the retrograde tracer, FluoroGold into the axotomized proximal nerve stump. Serial coronal frozen sections at 40 microm thick through the L4 to L6 spinal segment was performed and the resultant total number of sections was about 180. Approximate serial 50 sections (approximately 2 mm) could be considered as the L5 segment based on the number of the fluorescent signals (above 20). L5 spinal segment could be differentiated from L4 and L6 segment based on their morphological characteristics under Cresyl violet stain. In L5-Tx group, at 2 and 4 weeks post-transection, the number of L5 spinal motoneurons was reduced by 8%. Meanwhile, Sc-Tx and Su groups showed no statistically notable changes. In this study, the authors could propose more reliable peripheral nerve axotomy model than the conventional sciatic nerve axotomy model by specifically transecting L5 spinal nerve and confining the investigating area within the L5 spinal segment.
Adult ; Animals ; Axotomy ; Benzoxazines ; Frozen Sections ; Humans ; Male ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries ; Peripheral Nerves ; Peroneal Nerve ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sciatic Nerve ; Spinal Nerves ; Sutures ; Tibial Nerve ; Viola

The aim of this study was to propose new more reliable peripheral nerve transection model to overcome the defect of the traditional sciatic axotomy model by specifically transecting L5 spinal nerve just after emerging from the intervertebral foramen and confining analysis area to the L5 spinal segment. The adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 300~350 g at the time of surgery, were used for the experiments. Four different experimental groups were used. 1. Sciatic nerve transection (Sc-Tx) group: transect the sciatic nerve in the popliteal fossa where it divided into the common peroneal nerve and tibial nerve. 2. L5 spinal nerve transection (L5-Tx) group: L5 spinal nerve was specifically transected. 3. Suture (Su) group: L5 spinal nerve was transected and immediately sutured. 4. Control group: the same surgical procedure with L5 spinal nerve transection group was performed except for the excision of L5 spinal nerve. To distinguish L5 motoneurons from the other level ones, the animals were received the retrograde tracer, FluoroGold into the axotomized proximal nerve stump. Serial coronal frozen sections at 40 microm thick through the L4 to L6 spinal segment was performed and the resultant total number of sections was about 180. Approximate serial 50 sections (approximately 2 mm) could be considered as the L5 segment based on the number of the fluorescent signals (above 20). L5 spinal segment could be differentiated from L4 and L6 segment based on their morphological characteristics under Cresyl violet stain. In L5-Tx group, at 2 and 4 weeks post-transection, the number of L5 spinal motoneurons was reduced by 8%. Meanwhile, Sc-Tx and Su groups showed no statistically notable changes. In this study, the authors could propose more reliable peripheral nerve axotomy model than the conventional sciatic nerve axotomy model by specifically transecting L5 spinal nerve and confining the investigating area within the L5 spinal segment.
Adult ; Animals ; Axotomy ; Benzoxazines ; Frozen Sections ; Humans ; Male ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries ; Peripheral Nerves ; Peroneal Nerve ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sciatic Nerve ; Spinal Nerves ; Sutures ; Tibial Nerve ; Viola

Spinal cord injury (SCI) without radiographic abnormality (SCIWORA) is estimated to account for 1-9% of the occurrence of SCI. Of these, cervical SCIWORA in children is common, but thoracic SCIWORA delayed onset in adult is much less common. We experienced a case of 38-years old male patient with lower extremity weakness; he had fallen down a week earlier before the investigation. At the time of admission, motor grade was 4 with voiding incontinence and ambulated with cane. He presented progressive weakness from G4 to G3 and hypoesthesia was below T8 dermatome and ambulated with wheelchair. Whole spine and lumbar MRI findings showed no abnormality and electrodiagnostic findings showed normal NCS, however, abnormal SEP on both the tibial nerves. After steroid therapy and proper rehabilitation program for 2 weeks, lower extremity strength was improved from G4 to G3, voiding was continent, and ambulation reached cane gait.
Adult ; Canes ; Child ; Gait ; Humans ; Hypesthesia ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; Spine ; Tibial Nerve ; Walking ; Wheelchairs

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the correlation between the K-BBS (Korean version of Berg balance scale), a tool for assessing balance, with the WISCI (walking index for spinal cord injury), and SCIM (spinal cord independence measure) in patients with post-acute spinal cord injuries. In addition, the difference in the K-BBS, WISCI, SCIM according to the degree of severity of the SEP (somatosensory evoked potential) findings of the posterior tibial nerve was analyzed in these patients. METHOD: Thirty patients with post-acute spinal cord injuries were assessed with the K-BBS, WISCI, and SCIM every other week until discharge. A posterior tibial SEP study was recorded at the beginning of rehabilitation. Delayed latency or small amplitude in the SEP on one or both sides was regarded as the mild group, and non-evoked SEP on both sides was regarded as the severe group. Improvement in walking was based on the change in the scores from admission to discharge. The statistical analysis included the non-parametric Spearman rank correlation and t-test; p<0.05 RESULTS: The assessment scales showed a high correlation between the K-BBS, WISCI, and SCIM (p<0.05). The relationship between the K-BBS and WISCI was specifically strong (r=0.936). Moreover, there was a significant difference in the scores of the K-BBS, WISCI, and SCIM according to the severity of the SEP (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The findings of a statistical correlation of the K-BBS and the posterior tibial SEP with the WISCI and SCIM provides strong support for their use as outcome measures.
Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory ; Humans ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; Tibial Nerve ; Walking ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether an initial complete impairment of spinal cord injury (SCI) contributes to the functional outcome prediction, we analyzed the relationship between the degree of complete impairment according to the American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale (AIS), the posterior tibial nerve somatosensory evoked potential (PTSEP) and the changes of functional indices. METHODS: Sixty subjects with SCI were studied who received rehabilitative management for over 2 months. The degree of completeness on basis of the initial AIS and PTSEP were evaluated at the beginning of rehabilitation. Following treatment, several functional indices, such as walking index for spinal cord injury version II (WISCI II), spinal cord independence measure version III (SCIM III), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Modified Barthel Index (MBI), were evaluated until the index score reached a plateau value. RESULTS: The recovery efficiency of WISCI and BBS revealed a statistically significant difference between complete and incomplete impairments of initial AIS and PTSEP. The SCIM and MBI based analysis did not reveal any significant differences in terms of the degree of AIS and PTSEP completeness. CONCLUSION: AIS and PTSEP were highly effective to evaluate the prognosis in post-acute phase SCI patients. BBS and WISCI might be better parameters than other functional indices for activities of daily living to predict the recovery of the walking ability in post-acute SCI.
Activities of Daily Living ; Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory ; Humans ; Postural Balance ; Prognosis ; Rehabilitation ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Injuries* ; Spinal Injuries ; Tibial Nerve ; Walking

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in the prognosis of neurological recovery in paraplegics with thoracolumbar fracture using association analysis with clinical outcomes and electrodiagnostic features. METHODS: This retrospective study involved 30 patients treated for paraplegia following thoracolumbar fracture. On axial and sagittal T2-weighted MRI scans, nerve root sedimentation sign, root aggregation sign, and signal intensity changes in the conus medullaris were independently assessed by two raters. A positive sedimentation sign was defined as the absence of nerve root sedimentation. The root aggregation sign was defined as the presence of root aggregation in at least one axial MRI scan. Clinical outcomes including the American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale, ambulatory capacity, and electrodiagnostic features were used for association analysis. RESULTS: Inter-rater reliability of the nerve root sedimentation sign and the root aggregation sign were kappa=0.67 (p=0.001) and kappa=0.78 (p<0.001), respectively. A positive sedimentation sign was significantly associated with recovery of ambulatory capacity after a rehabilitation program (chi2=4.854, p=0.028). The presence of the root aggregation sign was associated with reduced compound muscle action potential amplitude of common peroneal and tibial nerves in nerve conduction studies (chi2=5.026, p=0.025). CONCLUSION: A positive sedimentation sign was significantly associated with recovery of ambulatory capacity and not indicative of persistent paralysis. The root aggregation sign suggested the existence of significant cauda equina injuries.
Action Potentials ; Cauda Equina ; Conus Snail ; Electrodiagnosis ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Neural Conduction ; Paralysis ; Paraplegia ; Prognosis ; Rehabilitation ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Injuries ; Tibial Nerve