Effects of aging on central conduction in somatosensory evoked potentials: evaluation of onset versus peak methods

Tanosaki, Masato; Ozaki, Isamu; Shimamura, Hideki; Baba, Masayuki; Matsunaga, M

doi:10.1016/s1388-2457(99)00193-5

Cited by 49 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In the most extreme cases this could lead to a complete conduction block explaining why it is only in the older group that there are cases of complete absence of conduction. However, some of these differences could also be attributed to a lowering of conduction speed as a result of age by itself as reported by Tanosaki et al 8 As the conservative treatment period in this study was standardised to 3 months from when the patients were first seen in the clinic, this eliminated the possibility that the neurophysiological differences between the two groups could be to due differences in the length of the splint treatments. Dissatisfaction with surgery in patients without conduction blocks could also be caused by an age-related decline in sensory nerve function causing poor wound repair as stated by Khalil et al; 9 however, the cellular mechanism for this decline in function with age is not well understood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

High incidence of absent nerve conduction in older patients with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome

Povlsen

2010

annals

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Ann R Coll Surg Engl 2010; 92: 403-405 403Carpal tunnel syndrome is common in the general population with approximately 1% incidence but can often be treated with simple night wrist splints.1 For those patients who do respond satisfactorily to conservative measures, surgical decompression is often successful.2 However, some investigators have reported that older patients can have a less satisfactory outcome after surgery, 3 though this impression is not universally shared. 4,5 To the author's knowledge, no objective explanation has been suggested for these observations. As the symptoms for carpal tunnel syndrome include wrist pain, paresthesia and weakness in grip strengths, a number of medical conditions can produce a similar clinical picture; therefore, as standard practice, our department investigates these patients with neurophysiology before a surgical treatment strategy is considered if conservative treatment is unsatisfactory. This is particularly relevant if the condition is bilateral.6 However, the author acknowledges that neurophysiological diagnosis prior to surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome is a controversial issue and that many surgeons operate on clinical grounds only. The aim of this paper was, therefore, to see if there was a significant difference in sensory or motor conduction speeds between a group of patients younger than 40 years and a group of patients older than 60 years who presented with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome which was resistant to conservative treatment with night wrist splints. Patients and MethodsFrom a specialist hand surgical clinic, 10 patients below 40 years of age and 20 patients above 60 years of age with a clinical diagnosis of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome who had not benefited from conservative treatment with night wrist splints were evaluated with nerve conduction studies. The length of the standard conservative treatment period was 3 months from the time they were first seen in the clinic until they were reviewed in the clinic and referred for pre-surgical neurophysiology confirmation if they wanted surgical release due to insufficient subjective improvements of their complaints. Patients with previous surgical treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome were excluded. Median nerves in both hands were tested across the wrist and conduction speeds were calculated for both motor and sensory nerves. The Mann-Whitney non-parametric test was used for the statistical evaluation. Carpal tunnel syndrome has been reported by some to have a less satisfactory outcome in older patients following surgery. However, this impression is not supported by other investigators but no objective explanation has been suggested for these differences. In our department, such patients are routinely treated with night wrist splints and, if this is unsatisfactory, they are investigated with nerve conduction studies prior to surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS This paper reports the neurophysiological outcome in a young (< 40 years of age) and an older (> 60 years of age) group of patients with clinic...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

High incidence of absent nerve conduction in older patients with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome

Povlsen

2010

annals

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“…At the central level, central somatosensory pathways conductive function is affected by normal aging [70]. Aging induces progressive loss of the dendrite system in the motor cortex [47,58], losses in the number of neurons and receptors, and neurochemical changes in the brain [38,50,68].…”

Section: Mechanisms Of Proprioception Deterioration With Agingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aging effects on joint proprioception: the role of physical activity in proprioception preservation

Ribeiro

Oliveira

2007

Eur Rev Aging Phys Act

181

115

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Throughout the human life span the functions of several physiological systems dramatically change, including proprioception. Impaired proprioception leads to less accurate detection of body position changes increasing the risk of fall, and to abnormal joint biomechanics during functional activities so, over a period of time, degenerative joint disease may result. Altered neuromuscular control of the lower limb and consequently poor balance resulting from changes in the proprioceptive function could be related to the high incidence of harmful falls that occur in old age subjects. There is evidence of proprioception deterioration with aging. Regular physical activity seems to be a beneficial strategy to preserve proprioception and prevent falls among older subjects. Some studies have demonstrated that the regular physical activity can attenuate age-related decline in proprioception. This paper reviews the evidence of age effects on joint proprioception. We will discuss the possible mechanisms behind these effects and the role of regular physical activity in the attenuation of age-related decline in proprioception.

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“…In addition to these peripheral modifications, the decline in proprioception as result of the aging process could be also consequence of changes in the Central Nervous System. Indeed, inadequate processing of proprioceptive input could be determined by numerous changes at central level, including decreased conductive function in the somatosensory pathways (Tanosaki, Ozaki, Shimamura, Baba, & Matsunaga, 1999), decreased grey matter in postcentral gyrus (Quiton, et al, 2007), progressive loss in the dendrite system of the motor cortex (Nakamura, Akiguchi, Kameyama, & Mizuno, 1985;Scheibel, Lindsay, Tomiyasu, & Scheibel, 1975), decline in the number of neurons and receptors, and neurochemical changes in the brain (Masliah, Mallory, Hansen, DeTeresa, & Terry, 1993;Pakkenberg & Gundersen, 1997;Strong, 1998). Central Nervous System alterations could also induce alterations in muscle spindle sensitivity, as supraspinally mediated changes in the gamma drive to the muscle spindle could have a direct effect on its sensitivity (Mynark, 2001).…”

Section: Wwwintechopencommentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Influencing Proprioception: What do They Reveal?

Ribeiro¹,

Oliveira²

2011

Biomechanics in Applications

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Effects of aging on central conduction in somatosensory evoked potentials: evaluation of onset versus peak methods

Cited by 49 publications

References 20 publications

High incidence of absent nerve conduction in older patients with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome

High incidence of absent nerve conduction in older patients with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome

Aging effects on joint proprioception: the role of physical activity in proprioception preservation

Factors Influencing Proprioception: What do They Reveal?

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