Somatosensory Evoked Potentials in Children With Bilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy

• Published in: Pediatric neurology Vol. 44; no. 3; pp. 177 - 182
• Main Authors: Teflioudi, Eleni P., Zafeiriou, Dimitrios I., Vargiami, Euthymia, Kontopoulos, Eleutherios, Tsikoulas, Ioannis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.03.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Biological and medical sciences; Cerebral Palsy - diagnosis; Cerebral Palsy - physiopathology; Child; Child, Preschool; Electric Stimulation - methods; Electrodiagnosis. Electric activity recording; Electroencephalography; Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory - physiology; Female; Humans; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Median Nerve - physiopathology; Medical sciences; Nervous system; Neurology; Pediatrics; Statistics as Topic; Tibial Nerve - physiopathology; Human; Cerebral palsy; Nervous system diseases; Central nervous system disease; Electrophysiology; Somatosensory evoked potential; Child; Cerebral disorder
• ISSN: 0887-8994; 1873-5150; 1873-5150
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2010.11.001

Alterations were monitored of somatosensory evoked potentials in children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy and these findings correlated with relevant clinical and laboratory parameters. Fifty-one children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy (31 boys, 20 girls; age range 24-168 months) participated in the study. Abnormal somatosensory evoked potentials latencies were recorded in 23 of 34 (67.6%) cortical recordings of the median nerve and in 38 of 51 (74.5%) cortical recordings of the tibial nerve. Abnormal tibial nerve somatosensory evoked potentials were strongly correlated with abnormal electroencephalogram ( P = 0.014), while impaired median nerve recordings were correlated with abnormal visual evoked potentials ( P = 0.02) and a history of perinatal or neonatal infection ( P = 0.016). Furthermore, perinatal/neonatal infection adversely effected the recordings in both tibial and medial nerves in quadriplegic patients ( P = 0.023). Sensory impairment is strongly related with abnormal visual evoked potentials, abnormal electroencephalogram, and a history of perinatal or neonatal infection.