Treatment of pain and limited movement of the shoulder in hemiplegic patients with botulinum toxin a in the subscapular muscle.

Three poststroke hemiplegic patients were treated by injecting Botulinum toxin A (BtxA) into the subscapularis muscle, to reduce pain and increase the range of motion in the shoulder. According to the described procedure, 250 units of Dysport toxin were injected through a 0.8-mm diameter needle with electrostimulation guidance. In the 3 cases, injection of BtxA reduced pain and improved the range of motion, especially abduction and external rotation, of the hemiplegic shoulder. This result confirms the role of spasticity in hemiplegic shoulder pain and the beneficial effects of Botulinum toxin injection into the subscapularis muscle deserve to be confirmed in further series.

Perception of verticality after recent cerebral hemispheric stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Perception of the subjective visual vertical (SVV) is affected by cerebral hemispheric lesions. Knowledge of this disturbance is of interest for the study of its possible relation to balance disturbances. There is still uncertainty about the possible effects of a visual field defect and of the side and site of the lesion. This study was conducted to assess SVV with the head upright or tilted and to explore its relation to a visual field defect, visuospatial neglect, and the site of lesion. METHODS: Forty patients with hemiplegia after a recent hemispheric stroke (20 with left and 20 with right stroke) were studied. The site of the lesion was determined on CT scan, with special attention focused on the vestibular cortex. A neurological examination with determination of the visual field and visual neglect was conducted before SVV was tested. Subjects sat in a dark room and adjusted a luminous rod to the vertical position. Measures were repeated with binocular and monocular vision and with the head upright or tilted to the right or left. RESULTS: SVV was abnormally deviated in 23 of 40 patients (57%). The deviation was significantly greater among patients with a right or left hemispheric lesion than among healthy controls (-2.2 degrees and 1.5 degrees versus 0.2 degrees ); the same applied to the range of uncertainty (7.6 degrees and 4.7 degrees versus 1.9 degrees ). SVV deviation was not significantly related to the location of the lesion but was closely related to visuospatial neglect. The "E" effect observed in controls with the head tilted, ie, an SVV shift in the direction opposite to the head tilt, was not observed in hemiplegic patients with the head tilted toward the nonparetic side. CONCLUSIONS: Recent hemispheric stroke affects SVV perception, which is closely correlated to visuospatial neglect. It is suggested that the E effect might be mediated by the stretching of the somatosensory structure of the neck.