We investigated neurological findings in 41 prisoners (mean age: 28.6) who participated in a hunger strike between 2000 and 2002. All cases were evaluated using neuropsychological, neuroradiological, and electrophysiological methods. The total duration of fasting ranged from 130 to 324 days (mean 199 days). All cases had 200-600 mg/day thiamine orally for 60-294 days (mean 156) during the hunger strike, and had neurological findings consistent with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. All 41 patients exhibited altered consciousness which lasted from 3 to 31 days. All patients also presented gaze-evoked horizontal nystagmus and truncal ataxia. Paralysis of lateral rectus muscles was found in 14. Amnesia was apparent in all cases. Abnormal nerve conduction study parameters were not found in the patient group, but the amplitude of compound muscle action potential of the median and fibular nerves and sensory nerve action potential amplitude of the sural nerve were lower than the control group, and distal motor latency of the posterior tibial nerve was significantly prolonged as compared with the control group. The latency of visual evoked potential was prolonged in 22 cases. Somatosensory evoked potential (P37) was prolonged but not statistically significant. Our most significant finding was that the effect of hunger was more prominent on the central nervous system than on the neuromuscular system, despite the fact that all patients were taking thiamine. In our opinion, partial recovery of neurological, and neurocognitive signs in prolonged hunger could be a result of permanent neurological injury.
Multiple Sclerosis is known to cause autonomic and sexual dysfunction. However, genitourinary and sexual problems in female multiple sclerosis patients are difficult to analyse. Therefore, it is an understudied field. As an attempt to fill this gap, we evaluated genital region autonomic dysfunction of female multiple sclerosis patients by using genital sympathetic skin response. Forty female patients with definite multiple sclerosis and twenty healthy female controls were included in the study. We examined hand, foot and genital sympathetic skin responses. Some genitourinary parameters were questioned by and results were compared with genital sympathetic skin response results. Among multiple sclerosis patients 42.5% of them had genitourinary and 75% had sexual problems clinically. Sympathetic skin response pathologies were distributed as following: 22.5% in hand, 20% in the foot, and 50% in genital region in the patient group. A statistically significant correlation between sexual dysfunction and genital sympathetic skin response could not been found. It is found that patients with multiple sclerosis have higher genital sympathetic skin response abnormalities than foot and hand sympathetic skin response abnormalities. This might be the early sign of autonomic dysfuntion in multiple sclerosis patients. Genital sympathetic skin response may be an easy and objective method to apply and helpful to evaluate genitourinary dysfunction in women in conjunction with female sexual dysfuntion index.
The paravertebral myotomal-evoked potentials obtained by surface electrode from paravertebral muscles and by midline needle electrode in the intrinsic rotatory muscles of the spine were useful in localizing lesions in the spinal segments in most of the patients with thoracic-lumbar cord lesions.
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