Sternocleidomastoid Tendon Reflex in Normal Korean Adults

OBJECT: The purpose of this study was to establish the normal values of sternocleidomastoid (SCM) tendon reflex in normal Korean adults. METHOD: The study for SCM tendon reflex was performed in 41 normal adults using electric reflex hammer. The compound muscle action potentials (CMAP) of SCM muscle were obtained by SCM tendon tapping. From 5 repeated trials of each subject, the shortest latency and the largest peak-to-peak amplitude of CMAP were chosen for the representative value. RESULTS: Mean values of latency and amplitude were 2.19+/-0.27 msec and 0.70+/-0.38 mV for SCM tendon reflex. There was no significant difference in the latency and amplitude regardless of side or sex (p>0.05). The age and height showed no signifiant correlation with latency and amplitude of SCM tendon reflex (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: We believe that our results can be used as an evaluation method of upper cervical spinal cord.

Correlation of Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Lumbar Herniated Intervertebral Disc with Operative Findings

Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) is clearly more reliable than computer tomography and myelography in radiological diagnosis of lumbar herniated intervertebral disc. Moreover, MRI can also detect degenerative changes of intervertebral discs. The purpose of this study was to determine the utility and accuracy of MRI in conjuntion with the diagnosis of lumbar herniated intervertebral disc and to compare findings with operative findings. Comparisons of operative findings and MRI were done in 133 cases. Each patients had been diagnosed by MRI as having lumbar herniated intervertebral disc. MRI findings included those of spin echo T1-weighted images and T2-weighted images, gradient echo T1-weighted images and T2-weighted images, and gadolinium-DTPA enhancement when needed. In 32 protrusion disc cases diagnosed by MRI, 28 cases were confirmed by operation and four were actually extrusion disc. In 77 cases diagnosed by MRI as extrusion disc, 72 cases were confirmed by operative findings, while 5 cases were found to be protrusion disc. 4 cases of sequestration disc diagnosed by MRI were confirmed by operative findings. Specific dimensions of MRI use yielded the following results: protrusion disc indicated 84.8% in sensitivity, 95% specificity, 87.5% in accuracy; extrusion disc showed 94.7%, 86.5%, 93.5%, respectively; and sequestration disc revealed 100% in all categories. In this study, the average accuracy of lumbar herniated intervertebral disc diagnosed by MRI was 93.6% on average. Accordingly, MRI has shown itself to be a good diagnostic tool for determining anatomical and biological change in lumbar herniated intervertebral disc.