title: Peripheral neurophysiology of acute distal spinal cord infarction.
abstract: F-wave abnormalities, in the presence of normal distal motor nerve conduction, most often are the first indicators of proximal peripheral nerve dysfunction in demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathies. However, a 15-year-old female-who developed lumbosacral spinal cord infarction with paraplegia, sensory loss, and incontinence beginning 15 hours after a fall-studied electrophysiologically at 2 days postparaplegia manifested absent lower-extremity f-waves and H-reflexes and normal compound muscle action potentials and distal motor and sensory conduction velocities. Subsequent evaluations demonstrated permanent loss of compound muscle action potentials, f-waves, and H-reflexes and prominent acute denervation in paralyzed lower-extremity muscles. Thus early f-wave and H-reflex loss can also occur in spinal cord disease, thereby representing the first evidence of motoneuron destruction.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia 65212, USA.
authors.forename: Steven H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Horowitz
authors.forename: Nitin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Patel
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000200:Action Potentials; D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D003615:Dancing; D005260:Female; D006181:H-Reflex; D006801:Humans; D007238:Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009431:Neural Conduction; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*