Brainstem auditory evoked potentials in meningomyelocele.
The brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) of twenty-seven Myelomeningocele (MMC) patients were analyzed and compared with the results of a normal population. The longest wave V or V-I interpeak latencies were seen in patients with shunted hydrocephalus and cranial nerve defects. The shortest wave V and V-I interpeak latencies were found in patients without hydrocephalus. However, these latencies of MMC patients were significantly longer than the latencies of a normal population. Wave I latencies of all MMC subgroups were not significantly different from the results of the normal probands. It is assumed that V-I interpeak latency prolongation in MMC patients, which is related to the severity of the clinical signs of the Arnold Chiari malformation, is mostly due to an elongation of the brainstem.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002557:Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003391:Cranial Nerves / Q000503:physiopathology; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000503:physiopathology; D008591:Meningomyelocele / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology