None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) is a rare disorder that causes pain, stiffness and spasms in the back, trunk, arms legs. It can be a difficult condition for doctors to diagnose as the key symptoms are common with many potential causes, and there is no single test that proves a person has the condition. Blood tests can be helpful in some cases and abnormalities in a particular test called the exteroceptive reflex test has been described in the condition. It is not known, however, how accurate exteroceptive reflex testing is in the diagnosis of SPS. The purpose of this study is to get more information about whether the exteroceptive reflex test can help doctors diagnose stiff-person syndrome and distinguish this from other neurological problems which present with pain or stiffness in muscles, people who take medication which make other reflexes more prominent (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and selective serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors), and from healthy individuals. Exteroceptive reflex testing involves a doctor or neurophysiology scientist recording signals from several muscles in the back and legs by placing small disposable recording electrodes on the skin. Muscle contraction is measured after nerves in the wrist and ankle are activated with low-level electrical current. The test takes approximately 15 minutes, and does not cause any harm to the nerves, muscles or other parts of the body.
Interventions
Exteroceptive reflex testing is a neurophysiological test that measures the response of a person's muscles following stimulation of nerves in the arms and legs. In this study exteroceptive reflexes of participants with Stiff Person Syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, Spasticity due to Multiple sclerosis and hereditary spastic paraplegia, lower limb dystonia and subacute-chronic back pain, healthy participants and those without neurological conditions but taking some antidepressant medications (selec
Exteroceptive reflex testing is a neurophysiological test that measures the response of a person's muscles following stimulation of nerves in the arms and legs. In this study exteroceptive reflexes of participants with Stiff Person Syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, Spasticity due to Multiple sclerosis and hereditary spastic paraplegia, lower limb dystonia and subacute-chronic back pain, healthy participants and those without neurological conditions but taking some antidepressant medications (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and selective serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors) will be compared. Exteroceptive reflex testing will be performed by a neurologist trained in neurophysiology. The testing in addition to demographic data collection will occur in a single session, which will take approximately 90 minutes. In line with published techniques, stimulus-train stimulation of the median and tibial nerve will be performed bilaterally, 8 times at each site. The stimulus-train is of frequency 200Hz, lasts a total of 0.2ms and will be performed 8 times to each of the median and tibial nerves. An interval of at least 30seconds will separate each stimulus train at each site. Muscle activity will be recorded by surface electromyography at the sternocleidomastoid, paraspinal muscles (C7, T4, T10, L4), rectus abdominus, rectus femoris and tibialis anterior muscles. The latency, sequence and pattern of motor activation following stimulation will be compared.
Sponsors
Melbourne Health
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
- Diagnosis of antibody positive stiff-person syndrome, Multiple sclerosis with spasticity, hereditary spastic paraplegia, lower limb dystonia, Parkinson’s disease, no neurological illness but taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or selective serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors, healthy volunteers.
Exclusion criteria
Contact allergy to medical adhesives
Outcome results
None listed