Significance of affected side sensorimotor area in recovery of upper limb motor function after subcortical cerebral infarction / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To explore the value and significance of sensorimotor cortex (SMC) in the recovery of upper limb motor function after cerebral infarction in the striatum with blood oxygenation level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI).Methods:A total of 17 patients with primary onset of striatal intracapsular infarction (SCI) with unilateral severe upper limb paralysis, who were strictly screened from the Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University from June 2015 to December 2017, were selected as research subjects, and 15 healthy volunteers were selected as controls. BOLD-fMRI under the passive finger extension (FE) task on the hemiplegic side was performed within one week, one month and three months after the onset of the disease. The activation of SMC was observed by SPM8 software. The activation of corresponding brain activation areas in BOLD-fMRI was observed by Xjview software and compared with the standard brain activation areas dynamically. The upper limb section of the Fugl-Meyer Scale (FM-UL) was used to track the motor function of the upper limb. The upper limb motor function of the selected patients was evaluated before functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning, at one month and three months after onset of the disease.Results:In the controls, fMRI showed that the main brain activation areas were located in the contralateral SMC and bilateral supplementary motor area. According to the activation time course of the affected side SMC and the comparison results with the standard brain activation area, the study patients were divided into three groups: group 1 (six patients), in which the activation intensity of SMC was stronger than that of standard brain activation area in the early stage of onset; group 2 (five patients), in which the activation intensity of SMC in the affected side was stronger than that in the standard brain activation area at one month after onset; group 3 (six patients), in which the activation intensity of SMC in the affected side increased gradually in three months, but still did not exceed the standard brain activation area. The activated voxel values of the affected side SMC in group 1 patients at the first time, one month and three months were 3 570.2±1 125.9, 1 205.8±328.2 and 1 121.5±407.5, respectively, the difference within the group being statistically significant ( F=12.8, P=0.001); the activated voxel values of the affected SMC in group 2 patients were 556.2±171.7, 648.6±177.3 and 993.2±182.9, respectively, and the differences within the group were statistically significant ( F=6.5, P=0.018); the activated SMC values of the affected SMC in group 3 patients were 520.0±375.9, 573.5±375.0 and 680.9±359.8, respectively, and there was no statistically significant difference within the group ( P>0.05). The three times FM-UL scores corresponding to group 1 patients were (10.0±3.3) points, (52.3±4.6) points and (63.7±2.9) points; the three times FM-UL scores corresponding to group 2 patients were (10.6±5.7) points, (36.6±2.4) points and (59.2±3.1) points; and the three times FM-UL scores corresponding to group 3 patients were (9.2±4.0) points, (12.5±3.0) points and (13.3±5.0) points; FM-UL scores in group 1 and group 2 patients showed statistically significant differences within the groups ( F=348.4, 183.6; P<0.001), whereas that in group 3 patients showed no statistically significant difference within the group ( P>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the initial FM-UL score among the groups ( P>0.05), while the differences among the groups at one month and three months were statistically significant ( F=191.7,304.5; P<0.001). Conclusions:The survival of SMC on the affected side after cerebral infarction is a prerequisite for the rehabilitation of limb motor function. Its early activation cannot predict the clinical prognosis, but the dynamic enhancement of SMC activation on the affected side is related to the rehabilitation speed of the affected limb.

Surgical Strategies in Patients with the Supplementary Sensorimotor Area Seizure

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to analyze surgical strategies for patients with intractable supplementary sensorimotor area(SSMA) seizures. METHODS: Seventeen patients who had surgical treatment were reviewed retrospectively. Preoperatively, phase I (non-invasive) and phase II (invasive) evaluation methods for epilepsy surgery were done. Seizure outcome was assessed with Engel's classification. The mean follow-up period was 27.2 months (from 12 months to 54 months). RESULTS: An MRI identified structural abnormality in eight patients and 3D-surface rendering revealed abnormal gyration in three. PET, SPECT, and surface EEG could not delineate the epileptogenic zone. Video-EEG monitoring with a subdural grid or depth electrodes verified the epileptogenic zone in all patients. Surgical procedures consisted of a resection of the SSMA and simultaneous callosotomy in two patients, a resection of the SSMA extending to the adjacent area in seven, a resection of a different area without a SSMA resection in seven, and a callosotomy in one. Seizure outcomes were class I in 11 (65%), class II in five (29%), class III in one (6%). CONCLUSION: In patients with intractable SSMA seizure, surgery was an excellent treatment modality. Precise delineation of the epileptogenic zone based on multimodal diagnostic methods can provide good surgical outcomes without neurological complications.

Surgical Result of the Supplementary Sensorimotor Area Seizure

OBJECTIVE: The authors report the operative methods and postoperative outcomes of 14 cases with intractable supplementary sensorimotor area(SSMA) seizures. METHODS: From September 1996 to July 2001, 14 intractable cases treated by operation were reviewed and analysed with the help of each clinical characteristics, magnetic resonance images, histopathologic findings, noninvasive and invasive electroencephalographies(EEG), subdural grid and strip insertion and intracranial electrocorticographies and brain mapping results, retrospectively. The follow-up duration was from 2 months to 70 months(average, 26 months). RESULTS: There were eight males and six females and the age ranged from 2 to 47 years(average, 26.2). In the MRI findings, six lesional and eight nonlesional cases, and there were six localized and eight lateralized cases in the semiology and noninvasive EEG studies. In the histopathologic findings, cortical dysplasia was eight cases, gliosis three cases, leukomalacia one case and normal finding was two cases. In the seizure outcome, Engel's class I was 71.4%, class II was 21.4% and class III was 7.2%. The postoperative neurologic deficits were 12 in 14 cases and nine in 12 cases were dramatically improved within two or three weeks postoperatively and the remained three cases, the lesion was involved in the eloquent area but, all of them were improved via the rehabilitation programs. CONCLUSION: In the intractable SSMA seizure, the surgical treatment is an excellent method of treatment and early transient postoperative neurologic deficits were dramatically improved within several weeks.

Somatosensory Evoked Potential Responses in Focal Brain Lesions

Cerebral somatosensory evoked potentials(SEPs) produced by stimulation of peripheral nerves provide a useful diagnostic index of conduction in somatosensory pathways to the cortex. Thus the integrity of both the dorsal column-medial lemniscus pathway and primary sensorimotor area has been considered an essential requirement to record a normal SEP. There are suggestions that SEPs contain several components arising from different neuronal sources, the early short latency potentials corresponding to the lemniscus-mediated responses and the late waves to the diffuse spino-thalamic projections. The present work analyses the influence on SEPs of focal brain lesions, using the computerized tomography in detecting and localizing brain lesions. Somatosensory evoked potentials were recorded in 20 patients with focal brain lesions recognized by computerized tomography. 1) Patients with primary sensorimotor area(PSMA) damages(group I) had a very abnormal of the early component(No, Po, Nl, Pl) in 100% on the lesion side. 2) Patients presented supratentorial lesions, sparing PSMA(group II), 87.5% showing abnormal SEPs in early components and characterized by increment of amplitude in late components. 3) Brainstem damage(group III) produced a distortion of the early components especially N11, N20msec in latency. 4) In incomplete spinal cord injuries, the SEPs is indeed signal of functional recovery, of posterior column, and incorrespondance with clinical improvement.