Neurogenic heterotopic ossification in the upper limb.

Neurogenic heterotopic ossifications (NHOs) are periarticular ectopic ossifications that frequently develop after a central nervous system injury, most often a traumatic one. They limit range of motion and cause pain, interfering with limb positioning and function, whether active or passive. Highly described in the lower limbs, NHOs can also develop in the upper limb, with specific characteristics depending on their location. This article provides a summary of the diagnostic and therapeutic management of NHOs in the upper limb, based on the current literature.

Successive motor nerve blocks to identify the muscles causing a spasticity pattern: example of the arm flexion pattern.

Botulinum Toxin A has been the main treatment for spasticity since the beginning of the 1990s. Surprisingly, there is still no consensus regarding injection parameters or, importantly, how to determine which muscles to target to improve specific functions. The aim of this study was to develop a systematic approach to determine this, using the example of the arm flexion pattern. We first determined anatomical landmarks for selective motor block of the brachialis nerve, using 20 forearms from 10 fresh cadavers in Ecole Européenne de Chirurgie and a university-based dissection centre, Paris, France. We then carried out selective blocks of the motor nerves to the brachialis, brachioradialis and biceps brachii in patients with stroke with an arm flexion pattern, in a University Rehabilitation Hospital, Garches, France. We measured: the resting angle of the elbow angle in standing (manual goniometer), active and passive range of extension, and spasticity using the Held and Tardieu and the Modified Ashworth scales. Range of passive elbow extension was also measured with the shoulder in 90° of flexion. The resting angle of the elbow in standing decreased by 35.0° (from 87.6 ± 23.7 to 52.6 ± 24.2°) with inhibition of brachialis, by a further 3.9° (from 52.6 ± 24.2 to 48.7 ± 23.7°) with inhibition of brachioradialis and a further 14.5° (from 48.7 ± 23.7to 34.2 ± 20.7°) with inhibition of biceps brachii. These results were consistent with the clinical evaluation of passive elbow range of motion with the shoulder at 90°. Sequential blocking of the nerves to the three main elbow flexors revealed that the muscle that limited elbow extension the most, was brachialis. This muscle should be the main target to improve the arm flexion pattern. These results show that it is important not simply to inject the most superficial or powerful muscles to treat a spastic deformity. A comprehensive assessment is required. The strategy proposed in this paper should increase the effectiveness of botulinum toxin injections by ensuring that the relevant muscles are targeted.

[Urethral meatus deformities and urethra hypospadias in women: prevalence, problems and definitions. Study of 12,739 patients]. / Méat urétral enfoui et urètre hypospade chez la femme : prévalence, problématiques et définitions. Étude sur 12 739 patientes.

UNLABELLED: The difficulty to access to the urethral meatus is found in women in relation to morphological abnormalities of urogenital or ectopic locations meatus, whether acquired (urethral meatus buried [UMB]) or congenital reality (urethra hypospadias [UH]). The pathophysiology is not unequivocal with lack of clear and specific studies. PURPOSE: Verify the existence of specific functional problems, assess the prevalence and identify the anatomical features of UMB and UH. MATERIALS: UMB and UH were sought in a computerized database listing the patients attending a neurourology department between 2000 and 2014 for a pelvic-perineal disease. Each case was analysed for specific reached leaks, urinary tract infections and difficulties catheterization. RESULTS: Of the 12,739, 131 patients (1%) met the inclusion criteria, including 18 UH and 113 UMB. Ninety-one patients consulted for urinary disorders of neurological origin. The circumstances of UMB and UH discovery were: perineal systematic review in 63 cases (48%); difficulties of urethral catheterization in 65 cases (49%); urinary incontinence for 3 patients (3%). Urinary tract infections have not led to the discovery of UMB or UH. Difficulties locating the urethral meatus were congenital (UH) in 18 cases (13%). In 113 cases (87%), it was an acquired abnormality (UMB) overweight for 16 patients (12%), troublesome spasticity of the adductor muscles in 18 cases (14%), vulvovaginal atrophy in 5 cases (4%) and a patient (1%) with a pelvic organ prolapse. No details were given for the remaining 72 patients (54%). CONCLUSION: The urethral meatus difficult access due to MUE or UH can be met in a specialized service but the exact concept of MUE be defined. It can be considered as urethral meatus difficult to access and the cause is acquired. Functional impairment may be particularly important in patients requiring catheterization for bladder emptying. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.

[Sympathetic skin response and multiple sclerosis: descriptive and prospective study, and association with neuroperineal disorders]. / Réponses cutanées sympathiques et sclérose en plaques : étude descriptive, prospective et association aux troubles neuropérinéaux.

OBJECTIVE: Describe the sympathetic skin responses (SSRs), reflecting the sweat activity mediated by the sympathetic nervous system, in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) followed for urinary disorders and associate SSRs abnormalities with neuroperineal disorders. METHODS: Prospective monocentric study of a population suffering from MS, who received symptom scores (Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS], Urinary Symptoms Profile [USP], Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction [NBD], International Index of Erectile Function [IIEF] and Female Sexual Function Index [FSFI]) and whose SSRs were collected from the hand palm, the foot sole and the genital skin after mechanical stimulation, before and after anticholinergic drug. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients were included. Among them, 18 had an abolition of SSR, respectively 10, 14 and 17 at palm, perineum and foot sole. The absence of SSR was not related (P>0.05) with the duration of disease, the EDSS score, USP, IIEF15 or NBD scores. There was a statistically significant relationship between the abolition of SSR at perineum and women genitosexual disorders (P=0.01). Anticholinergic drugs remove 40 % of SSRs at hand and 67% at foot. The abolition of SSR at perineum was associated with the abolition of the SSR at sole (P=4 × 10(-5)). CONCLUSION: In these MS patients with neuroperineal disorders, more than half showed abnormal SSR. These abnormalities did not seem associated with urinary or rectal disorders but with genitosexual disorders in women. Under anticholinergic treatment, SSR frequently disappeared at palm and foot sole. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.