title: Sympathetic skin response in incomplete spinal cord injury with urinary incontinence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sympathetic skin response (SSR) is a test for evaluation of the sympathetic sweat gland pathways, and it has been used to study the central sympathetic pathways in spinal cord injury (SCI). This study aimed to assess the autonomic pathways according to normal or abnormal SSR in urinary incontinence patients due to incomplete spinal cord injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  Suprapubic, palmar, and plantar SSR to the peripheral nerve electrical stimulation were recorded in 16 urinary incontinence patients with incomplete spinal cord injury at various neurological levels and in 30 healthy control subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All the recordings of SSR from the incomplete SCI patients with urinary incontinence as compared with their counterparts in the control group showed significantly reduced amplitudes with more prominent reduction in the suprapubic area recording site (P value < 0.0004). SSR with significantly prolonged latencies were recorded from palm and plantar areas in response to suprapubic area and tibial N stimuli, respectively (P value < 0.02). In this study, a significantly higher stimulus intensity (P value < 0.01) was needed to elicit SSR in the cases compared with the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed abnormal SSR in urinary incontinence patients due to incomplete SCI. In addition, for the first time we have described recording of abnormal SSR from the suprapubic area as another way to show bladder sympathetic system involvement.
authors: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Shahid Faghihi Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors: Reza
authors: R
authors: Emad
authors: Mohsen
authors: M
authors: Zafarghasempour
authors: Sharareh
authors: S
authors: Roshanzamir
keywords: Spinal cord injury; sympathetic skin response; urinary incontinence
references: Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1990 Sep;76(3):258-67
references: 1697257
references: J Urol. 2000 Apr;163(4):1223-7
references: 10737502
references: Physiol Rev. 1973 Oct;53(4):916-47
references: 4355517
references: Auton Neurosci. 2002 Nov 29;102(1-2):78-84
references: 12492139
references: J Urol. 2004 Mar;171(3):1156-60
references: 14767291
references: Bratisl Lek Listy. 2004;105(3):108-16
references: 15253529
references: Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol. 2003 Jul-Aug;43(5):277-9
references: 12964255
references: J Neurol Sci. 1988 Nov;87(2-3):299-306
references: 2850351
references: Clin Exp Neurol. 1985;21:201-10
references: 3843220
references: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2002 Mar;72(3):356-60
references: 11861696
references: Urologe A. 1996 Mar;35(2):120-6
references: 8650845
references: Acta Neurol Scand. 1987 Jul;76(1):28-36
references: 3630642
references: Burns. 2012 Mar;38(2):232-5
references: 21924554
references: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1984 May;47(5):536-42
references: 6330307
references: J Auton Nerv Syst. 1996 Nov 6;61(2):175-80
references: 8946338
references: J Orthop Surg (Hong Kong). 2004 Jun;12(1):35-9
references: 15237120
references: Clin Auton Res. 2003 Aug;13(4):256-70
references: 12955550
references: Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1988 Jun-Jul;28(5):277-83
references: 3191879