CUTANEOUS REFLEXES IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE LACUNAR INFARCTIONS

Cutaneous reflex (CR) was measured in 15 patients with acute lacunar s troke and in 15 age- and sex-matched normal subjects. EMG activities w ere recorded from the first dorsal interosseous muscle with surface el ectrodes, rectified and averaged. Intensity of the stimulation on the index finger was four times the sensory threshold. Aided by audio- and visual-feedback monitoring, the subjects abducted the index finger. S ide-to-side comparison was made on all the subjects. CR abnormalities were found in all of our patients. The early inhibitory (I1) and secon d excitatory (E2) components were attenuated in 11 of 15 patients. The I1-E2 interpeak amplitude (A2) was significantly reduced in all the p atients. Prolonged latency of I1-E2 components was found to be pronoun ced in six of eight patients with sensory symptoms. Eight patients wer e followed up 1 month later. By that time, the abnormal CR had reverse d to some degree in all of them. CR alternation was still present in t wo fully recovered patients. Our result implied a thalamic relay in th e efferent limb of the CR. CR could be a valuable adjunct for assessin g long tract dysfunction and monitoring functional recovery. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.