title: A clinical neurophysiologic study of tropical spastic paraparesis.
abstract: During a field study in the Seychelles Islands, 19 patients with tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP) were evaluated electrophysiologically. Methods of assessment included motor and sensory nerve conduction studies, electromyography, and analysis of the somatosensory evoked potentials after stimulation of the tibial and median nerves. The results showed that the most prominent feature of the disease, a spastic paraparesis, is accompanied by subclinical involvement of spinal sensory pathways and a comparatively minor peripheral sensorimotor polyneuropathy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Münster, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ludolph
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hugon
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Román
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Schoenberg
mesh_terms: D004576:Electromyography; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory; D006801:Humans; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009128:Muscle Spasticity / Q000503:physiopathology; D009420:Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009431:Neural Conduction; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000502:physiology; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014330:Tropical Medicine