Integrated assessment of back muscles bioelectrical activity and H-reflex research in AIS.

The study of the back muscles bioelectric activity in 216 children in the age between 10-15 years showed that the total paravertebral muscles bioelectrical activity on the convex side of the proximal curve and on the concave side of its distal part is higher compared with that on the opposite side. Analysis of H-reflex and M-responses in 302 patients in the age between 10-15 years created a normative database. This allows, in comparison with the total individual electrophysiological parameters, to determine patient's progression risk.

Peculiarities of brain functioning in children with adolescence idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) according to EEG studies.

Brain structures with bioelectric activity (BA) different from BA of the same structures in healthy peers were revealed using an original 3DLocEEG analysis of EEGs that solves so-called "reverse EEG task". These were the following structures: thalamus, pineal gland, hypothalamic area, including suprahiasmatic nuclei, and infratemporal cortex. The shift of BA focus to structures of the left hemisphere including left thalamus was recorded in patients with AIS; the shift increased both with worsening of deformation and increasing progression activity. This was not observed in healthy children (aged 7-14 years), although it is natural for older adolescents (15-17 years) and healthy adults. In other words, the interhemispheric asymmetry of brain BA in children with AIS becomes typical for the definitive brain much earlier. This phenomenon may be used for future development of a method for prediction of deformation progression patterns. A number of differences obtained in comparative analysis of EEGs, processed by 3DLocEEG method, between right-side and left-side AIS allow us to hypothesize about aetiology and pathogenesis differences of these two AIS clinical forms. Data obtained suggest that brain structures play a much more important role in aetiology and pathogenesis of AIS right-side forms compared with left-side ones. Primary subclinical dysfunctions of brain regulatory systems leading to disturbances of spinal cord and brain associated growth and subsequently to scoliosis development are supposed to play the main role in pathogenesis of right-side AIS forms (or their substantial part). Evidently, the major reason for manifesting these latent dysfunctions is an overstrain of central nervous system (CNS) adaptation-compensation mechanisms during the pubertal period.

Typical and atypical AIS. Pathogenesis.

AIS hypothesis has the right to recognition, if it explains the transition of "healthy" vertebra column into status of "scoliotic" one. AIS is the most investigated disease in the history of orthopedics, but up the present time there is no clear explanation of some its phenomena: vertebra column mono-form deformation along with its poly etiology character, interrelation of its origin and development and child's growth process etc. The key for authors' view at AIS was scoliosis with non-standard (concave side) rotation. On the bases of its' multifunctional instrumental investigation results (Rtg, EMG, EEG, optical topography, hormonal and neuropeptides trials, thermo-vision methods and other) in comparison with typical AIS was worked out the new hypothesis, part of it is suggested for discussion. In the work under observation is the sequence of appearance of typical and atypical scoliosis symptomatology beginning from the preclinical stage.

Neurohumoral regulation in children with idiopathic scoliosis.

Biotesting of blood serum in children aged 8-15 with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (0°-60° by Cobb) showed the change of neurohumoral regulation in comparison with the age norm. The degree and direction of changes in the biotesting give the indication of the progression of spinal deformity. The effectiveness of treatment can be judged by control biotesting.

[The use of the transcranial micropolarization method for decreasing the manifestations of hyperkinesis in patients with infantile cerebral palsy]. / Primenenie metoda transkranial'noi mikropoliarizatsii dlia snizheniia vyrazhennosti giperkinezov u bol'nykh detskim tserebral'nym paralichom.

Transcranial micropolarization was used in the treatment of children with hyperkinetic form of infantile cerebral paralysis. The method was found to be more effective than various stereotaxic interventions on the brain or routine physiotherapy. Transcranial micropolarization exposure resulted in alleviation of hyperkinesis, posture-tonic reflexes, in improvement of active movements of the joints, supporting system, etc. Clinical status of patients exposed to this treatment modality improved by six times as against those treated traditionally. Clinical data and data of stimulation electromyography permit us to suggest a possible effect of transcranial micropolarization on the function of cerebral subcortical structures in patients with hyperkinetic form of infantile cerebral paralysis.

[Changes in the excitability of the spinal motor neurons during sessions of functional biocontrol in patients with different forms of infantile cerebral palsy]. / Izmenenie vozbudimosti spinal'nykh motoneironov v khode seansov funktsional'nogo bioupravleniia u bol'nykh s razlichnymi formami detskogo tserebral'nogo paralicha.

Excitability changes at the segmentary level of the spine were examined during functional bioregulation sessions administered to patients with various forms of infantile cerebral paralysis (spastic diplegia, spastic hemiparesis) by recording N- and M-responses of musculus soleus and musculus gastrocnemius medial head. Neurophysiologic disorders were revealed at the spinal level depending on the disease form. The authors suppose that presynaptic inhibition is to a greater measure impaired in spastic hemiparesis, whereas spastic diplegia is associated with more extensive involvement even of spinal inhibitory mechanisms proper. Sessions of functional bioregulation resulted in clinical improvement and in development of a trend to normalization of spinal reflectory excitability. Such changes were recorded in musculus soleus of children with spastic diplegia and in gastrocnemius muscle median head of those with spastic hemiparesis. Possible effects of directed afferent currents on structure and function of supraspinal systems regulating spinal mechanisms activity are discussed.

[The effect of controlled afferentation on functional asymmetry in supraspinal disorders in children]. / Vliianie upravliaemoi afferentatsii na funktsional'nuiu asimmetriiu pri supraspinal'nykh narusheniiakh u detei.

A reliable decrease of excitability of the motoneurons controlling the activity of right m. gastrocnemius as compared with the left one, was found in healthy children, where as there was no such difference in children suffering from cerebral paralysis. However, the difference did appear after several sessions of the muscle training with the aid of functional biocontrol technique. Possible mechanisms of the inter-hemisphere asymmetry effect in ontogenesis upon the spinal activity in norm, inherent motor pathology and in the course of the latter's correction, are discussed.

[The compensatory plasticity of the brain when it is damaged]. / Kompensatornaia plastichnost' mozga v usloviiakh ego povrezhdeniia.

A new test for determination of the degree of the compensatory processes after brain damage was proposed in experiments in the cats with one-sided transection of the hemisphere and children with one-sided cerebral palsy. The process of habituation of the skin galvanic reaction was used for this aim.

[Results of the ambulatory treatment of movement disorders in severe forms of cerebral palsy in childhood by the method of functional biological control]. / Rezul'taty lecheniia dvigatel'nykh rasstroistv pri tiazhelykh formakh detskogo tserebral'nogo paralicha priemami funktsional'nogo bioupravleniia v ambulatornykh usloviiakh.

The article is devoted to the use of functional biocontrol (FBC) with an external feedback in severe forms of childhood cerebral paralysis. The treatment was aimed at normalization of impaired reciprocal relations between antagonist muscles. The authors present practical recommendations on how to perform therapeutical sessions and propose a system for evaluating the efficacy of treatment with the use of FBC.

[Procedure for functional biocontrol in severe forms of movement disorders in patients with infantile cerebral palsy]. / Priemy funktsional'nogo bioupravleniia pri tiazhelykh formakh dvigatel'nykh narushenii u bol'nykh detskim tserebral'nym paralichom.

The paper deals with a modified method and a new device for functional biocontrol in children with severe forms of motor disturbances related to infantile cerebral paralysis. Training directed at the normalization of reciprocal relations reduced spontaneous bioelectrical activity and improved relationships between muscle-antagonists of the forearm which resulted in improved parameters of patients' motor activity.