This population assessment of the heart-mediastinum ratio of [123I]metaiodobenzylguanidine uptake showed a high sensitivity for the detection of autonomic involvement in patients with idiopathic IPD and also a high specificity for the discrimination between idiopathic PD and MSA.

The quantitative sudomotor axon reflex test (QSART) is a useful tool in the evaluation of C‐fiber function. Because many neuropathies show a length‐dependent loss of nerve function, a new capsule was designed for distal performance of the QSART, allowing measurements on fingers and toes. We investigated 20 healthy volunteers and 15 patients with insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus and normal sensory nerve conduction studies. A QSART was performed on the forearm and on the thumb. The groups showed no differences in the QSARTs on the forearm, but the sweat volume on the thumb was significantly lower in patients. Calculation of the forearm/finger ratio reduced the interindividual variation and showed the highest sensitivity for detecting C‐fiber dysfunction in the patient group. We conclude that the distal measuring device and the forearm/finger ratio are more sensitive tools for the early detection of distal‐onset neuropathies than are the commonly used proximal testing sites. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 22: 1257–1264, 1999.

Heart failure is a common cardiac disease in elderly patients. After discharge, approximately 50% of all patients are readmitted to a hospital within six months. Recent studies show that home monitoring of heart failure patients can reduce the number of readmissions. Still, a large number of false positive alarms as well as underdiagnoses in other cases require more accurate alarm generation algorithms. New low-cost sensors for leg edema detection could be the missing link to help home monitoring to its breakthrough. We evaluated a 3D camera-based measurement setup in order to geometrically detect and quantify leg edemas. 3D images of legs were taken and geometric parameters were extracted semi-automatically from the images. Intra-subject variability for five healthy subjects was evaluated. Thereafter, correlation of 3D parameters with body weight and leg circumference was assessed during a clinical study at the Medical University of Graz. Strong correlation was found in between both reference values and instep height, while correlation in between curvature of the lower leg and references was very low. We conclude that 3D imaging might be a useful and cost-effective extension of home monitoring for heart failure patients, though further (prospective) studies are needed.