Afterdischarges following F waves observed in a patient with tetanus.
We report a case of non-fluminent and mildly affected tetanus patient who showed afterdischarges following F waves in the affected extremity. The afterdischarges occurred following F waves and showed different configuration respond to each stimuli. Diazepam was also effective for spasms of our patient. This finding disappeared after treatment and showed a good correlation to clinical symptoms. These observations suggest that afterdischarges following F waves are induced by tetanus toxin which puts most of the motor neuron pool in a hyperactive state through its own action to the motor nerve including the spinal motor neuron.
Department of Neurology, National Okinawa Hospital, Japan. mineki@po.iijnet.or.jp
M
M
Saito
M
M
Suehara
A
A
Nagata
N
N
Kanzato
K
K
Arimura
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000368:Aged; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010525:Peripheral Nerves / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013742:Tetanus / Q000503:physiopathology*