No abstract available.
Hand* ; Thoracic Outlet Syndrome*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Cats* ; Muscle Spindles* ; Muscle Weakness*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Hypokinesia* ; Immobilization* ; Muscle, Skeletal* ; Rats*

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study is to draw the three-dimensional reconstructions of nuclei and tracts of the auditory pathway structures of drainstem. METHOD: The drawings of 1 mm sections of the brainstem were scanned with a computer scanner into AUTOCAD program. All lines of structures except for the auditory pathway structures and outlines were removed. Each layer was plotted to a x, y, and z coordinated plotting reference to the corresponding points on the mid-sagittal plane and reconstructed to a three-dimensional drawing. Center point of the auditory pathway structures of all cross section layers were connected with a line in succession and that was thought to be a imaginary pathway of auditory pathway through the brainstem. RESULTS: This auditory pathway has several turning points, at the cochlear nucleus, superior olivary nucleus, and inferior colliculus which correspond with known generation sources of the peak of brainstem evoked potentials. CONCLUSION: This study presents a method for the conversion of the two-dimensional transverse sections into a three-dimensional format, to allow the visualization of the auditory pathway structures from multiple directions.
Auditory Pathways* ; Brain Stem* ; Cochlear Nucleus ; Evoked Potentials ; Inferior Colliculi ; Olivary Nucleus

No abstract available.

Chronic pain is a self-sustaining, self-reinforcing, and self- regenerating process. It persists beyond 3~6 months regardless of initial diagnostic category. It is not a symptom of an underlying acute somatic injury but rather, a destructive illness in its own right. It is an illness of the whole person and not a disease caused by the pathological state of an organ system. Chronic pain is persistent, long-lived, and progressive. Pain perception is markedly enhanced. Pain related behaviour becomes maladaptive and grossly disproportional to any underlying noxious stimulus, which usually has healed and no longer serves as an underlying pain generator. The purpose of this paper to present an approach to the prevention of chronic pain and disability, and to provide the clinician with potentially useful tools for the recognition of individuals at risk for chronic illness for whom multidisciplinary treatment is indicated.
Chronic Disease ; Chronic Pain* ; Humans ; Pain Perception

No abstract available.
Carbamazepine* ; Haloperidol*

Trigeminal neuropathy commonly presents prolonged disorder of sensation in the distribution of the fifth cranial nerve of unilateral side and involves more than one division. We are reporting a case of a pure trigeminal motor neuropathy without sensory symptoms. 38-year-old man suffered from a mild common cold followed by progressive weakness and wasting of right masticatory muscles without pain or sensory change. Neurological examination revealed sunken cheek and temple area with weakness of the masticatory muscles and normal sensation of the face and normal taste. And all other cranial nerve were intact. Electrophysiological study revealed abnormal spontaneous activities with no voluntary motor unit potentials from the right temporalis and masseter muscles. The masseter reflex examination elicited by reflex hammer stimulation showed very small amplitudes from the right side. Trigeminal evoked potential, brainstem evoked potential and electrophysiological trigeminal blink reflex were normal. The imaging studies of the brain(CT and MRI) demonstrated atrophy of the right trigeminal motor nerve innervated muscles suggesting a pure trigeminal motor neuropathy without sensory involvement. We suspected a viral infection as the cause of their condition.
Adult ; Atrophy ; Blinking ; Brain Stem ; Cheek ; Common Cold ; Cranial Nerves ; Evoked Potentials ; Humans ; Masseter Muscle ; Masticatory Muscles ; Muscles ; Neurologic Examination ; Reflex ; Sensation ; Trigeminal Nerve ; Trigeminal Nerve Diseases

OBJECTIVE: To examine the stiffness of finger joints with StifMeter among the patients with rheumatoid arthritis and to calculate the absolute value of the stiffness with a unit of power and to compare the values of the StifMeter with visual analog scale about stiffness (VASstiff). METHOD: Subjects were 53 rheumatoid arthritis patients (male 8, female 45) with disease duration at least 6 months. StifMeter was made up of 10 graded springs of a same spring-constant. Stiffness and pain by VAS and StifMeter, finger circumference and pinch strength were measured at outpatient clinic as well as questionaire, prospectively. Laboratory data were reviewed from medical records to verify the state of disease. We compared StifMeter with VASstiff and VASpain. RESULTS: Mean score of StifMeter was 5.59 on the right side and 5.53 on the left. The corrected values of the StifMeter with a unit of power were 0.01684 on the right side and 0.01672 on the left side. VASstiff score was positively correlated with that of StifMeter. The older the age, the higher the score of VASstiff that was positively correlated with that of StifMeter. The longer the duration of disease, the higher the score of VASstiff that was positively correlated with that of StifMeter. CONCLUSION: StifMeter is a semi-objective method which may be of value in the measurement of finger joint stiffness.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Female ; Finger Joint* ; Fingers* ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Pinch Strength ; Prospective Studies ; Visual Analog Scale

Postherpetic neuralgia(PHN) is a common complication of herpes zoster and one of most common intractable conditions in pain clinics. The PHN is defined solely by the persistence of pain after the herpes zoster. There has been no known pathophysiology for the PHN and the role of scars, local muscles, tendons and ligaments has not been addressed. The characteristics, duration, and location of the referred pain were evaluated along with the electromyographic(EMG) examination of involved muscles. Then treatment was given under the concept of a myofascial pain syndrome till the pain was completely resolved. Most of the patients with acute or chronic pain were relieved from the pain. This study revealed a practical and important new concept on herpes zoster related pains. In some cases of herpes zoster, acute herpes zoster seems to be an initiating factor to form an acute trigger point in the muscles of the related area. And uncomplicated trigger points neglected in an acute stage become chronic intractable problems, when they were neglected. In conclusion, myofascial pain syndrome should be taken into account when a postherpetic neuralgia is diagnosed. The recognition of this possible relationship between PHN and myofascial pain syndrome and an early proper care can greatly reduce the suffering of patents from chronic pain.
Chronic Pain ; Cicatrix ; Herpes Zoster ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Muscles ; Myofascial Pain Syndromes* ; Neuralgia, Postherpetic* ; Pain Clinics ; Pain, Referred ; Tendons ; Trigger Points