CRPS Type I of the Upper Extremity, Healthy Controls, Neuropathy of the Median Nerve
Conditions
Keywords
CRPS Type I, tactile acuity, 2-point-discrimination, Grating Orientation Task, sensory signs
Brief summary
This study aims to investigate whether two different measures of tactile acuity lead to comparable results in patients diagnosed with CRPS Type I of the upper extremity. Additionally patients with a neuropathy of the median nerve and healthy controls are included.
Interventions
OTHERTactile acuity measured by 2PD and the GOT
For a detailed description of the methods see outcome measures
Sponsors
Ruhr University of Bochum
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Patients diagnosed with CRPS Type I according to the Budapest Criteria * Patients diagnosed with a neuropathy of the median nerve * Healthy Controls,matched in age and gender to both patient cohorts
Exclusion criteria
* intolerable hyperalgesia * lesions at the fingertips * high grade digit contracture * central neurologic disorders * psychiatric disorders
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| tactile acuity as measured by 2-point-discrimination | unique measurement of maximal one hour duration | Thresholds on the tip of the index finger of boths hands are assessed using the method of constant stimuli. One single needle and seven pairs of needles with different spacings are tested in randomized order. After each presentation, the subject has to report the sensation of one or two needles by answering immediately one or two. Each distance is presented eight times resulting in 64 single decisions. The summed responses are plotted against distance as a psychometric function for absolute threshold and get fitted by a binary logistic regression. Thresholds are taken from the fit at the distance at which 50% correct answers are given |
| tactile acuity as measured by the Grating Orientation Task (GOT) | unique measurement of maximal half an hour duration | Stimuli are taken from a set of dome-shaped plastic gratings with equal groove and ridge widths. Gratings are applied to the immobilized distal fingerpad of the index finger of boths hand with the ridges oriented either along or across the long axis of the finger in randomized sequences of the two alternatives. Subjects have to report the orientation of the gratings as along or across. The largest groove widths in the set is 6mm, the minimal width is 0.5mm. Thresholds were taken from the groove width at which the performance was 75% correct. Unless the performance is exactly 75% for a particular grating, interpolation between gratings spanning the 75% correct responses ared used |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Touch threshold for light touch | unique measurement, duration approx. 5 minutes | Touch thresholds are taken from a set of von Frey filaments (0.25 mN - 512 mN). Touch sensitivity is investigated by using a staircase procedure during which subjects are required to close their eyes and report when they perceive an indentation of the skin on the fingerpad of the index finger. The applied forces are decreased in a stepwise manner until the subject no longer perceives the stimulus (lower boundary) and then increased until the stimulus is perceived again (upper boundary). This procedure is repeated 5 times resulting in 10 values that are averaged to provide the touch threshold. |
Countries
Germany
Contacts
Primary ContactChristoph Maier, Prof. Dr.
Backup ContactMarianne David, Dr.
Outcome results
None listed