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Biomedical subjects

M Barat

Publications and source records attributed to M Barat.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Spinal cord injuries--epidemiology in Portugal's central region.

This study concerns spinal cord injuries (SCI) in a region of Portugal with a population of 1,721,650 inhabitants. Legislation has made it possible to identify deaths occurring during collection and transport. Between 1989 and 1992, 398 new cases of spinal cord injuries were identified, of which 77% were male and 23% female. The average age was 50, with a range of between 1 and 92. As far as the type of injury is concerned, there were 154 isolated SCI (38.7%); in 120 cases (30.1%) there were multiple associated injuries; in 66 cases (16.6%) there was an associated traumatic brain injury; in 34 cases (8.5%) there was an associated trauma of the thorax. In the hospitals concerned no Injury Severity Score (ISS) was carried out during hospitalization. Sixty-four (16%) were dead upon arrival at hospital, and 159 (40%) died before release. The average length of hospitalization was 26.6 days, with the maximum being 539 days. The annual incidence rate is 57.8 new cases per million inhabitants, including those who died before being admitted to hospital. The annual survival rate is 25.4 new cases per million inhabitants. The death rate is very high during the first week, peaking during the first 24 h.

Female↗
PubMed1997

Unilateral neglect syndrome rehabilitation by trunk rotation and scanning training.

OBJECTIVE: Assessment of a new rehabilitation method for unilateral neglect syndrome (UNS), using a specific device (Bon Saint Come's device) that associates exploratory reconditioning with voluntary trunk rotation. DESIGN: Study 1, randomized control trial during 2 months; study 2, nonrandomized control trial during 2 months. SETTING: Neurorehabilitation units in private and public center. PATIENTS: In study 1, 22 consecutive patients with UNS resulting from recent stroke (< 3 months) were randomly assigned to an Experimental Group (11 patients) or to a Control Group (11 patients). The 2 groups were very similar in terms of general and neurological data. In study 2, 5 consecutive patients with chronic UNS resulting from an old stroke (> 6 months) showing the same characteristics were included. INTERVENTION: In study 1, patients in Group E followed the experimental program 1 hour a day for 1 month (20 hours) and Group C followed usual neurorehabilitation during the same time. In study 2, every patient followed the experimental program 1 hour a day for 1 month (20 hours). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Assessment in both studies was done at day 0, day 30, and day 60 using a battery of UNS tests (Albert, Scheckenberg, bell) and an activities of daily living (ADL) test (the Functional Independence Measure [FIM]). Mean scores of each test were compared between the 2 groups with the Wilcoxon nonparametric test. RESULTS: In study 1 all UNS test results and the FIM improved significantly more in Group E than in Group C. In Group E, UNS disappeared in 5 patients and improved in 6. In Group C, UNS disappeared in 1 patient, improved in 4, and was unchanged in 6. In Study 2, UNS remitted in 2 patients, improved in 2 patients, and was unchanged in 1. CONCLUSION: The Bon Saint Come method seems to significantly improve recent and chronic UNS, as well as ADL function. These encouraging results could have resulted from a synergistic effect of spatial reconditioning and voluntary trunk rotation. It must be assessed by a new study with more patients.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1997

Long-term neuropsychological outcome and loss of social autonomy after traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To assess which social activities were still impaired 5 years after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in adults, and which neuropsychological impairments were associated with this loss of social autonomy. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of 79 patients selected from the follow-up cohort of an epidemiologic survey of 2,116 TBI patients. SETTING: The present study was of ambulatory patients seen at hospital or at their homes. The inception cohort was from the trauma center of a university hospital and from a general hospital that is representative of level II trauma centers in Aquitaine, France. PATIENTS: Seventy-nine patients selected from a representative sample of 407 patients who were included in the 5-year follow-up study of the initial cohort (convenience sample). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) and loss of social autonomy as assessed by the European Brain Injury Society's European Head Injury Evaluation Chart; assessment of neurobehavioral impairments by means of the Neurobehavioral Rating Scale-Revised. RESULTS: Up to 16 patients suffered disability for at least one social skill because of cognitive/behavioral reasons. Seven needed full-time supervision. Performing administrative tasks and financial management, writing letters and calculating, driving, planning the week, and using public transport were the most impaired social abilities. Loss of social autonomy was mainly observed in severely injured patients. Univariate analysis showed that mental fatigability, motor slowing, memory difficulties, and disorders of executive function were associated with low scores on the GOS, unemployment, and difficulties in shopping, using public transport, and performing financial management and administrative tasks. CONCLUSION: Persistent impairments of executive functions and speed of psychomotor processing are major factors associated with loss of social autonomy and inability to return to work long after TBI in adults. Improving these impairments in concrete social situations represents a major challenge for cognitive rehabilitation.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1996

Effects of central dopaminergic stimulation by apomorphine on swallowing disorders in Parkinson's disease.

Swallowing disorders are common in Parkinson's disease but are of obscure and complex nature and pathophysiology. The effect of central dopaminergic stimulation on disordered swallowing is not well known. We studied the effects of apomorphine (in combination with domperidone) on buccolinguofacial motoricity and on various swallowing stages by using videofluoroscopy in eight patients with dysphagia. Swallowing abnormalities more frequently encountered were vallecular stasis (n = 7), fragmentation of the bolus (n = 7), and buccal stagnation of the bolus. Apomorphine improved vallecular stasis and fragmentation in about half the cases and improved buccal stagnation in all cases. Direct laryngeal penetration was found in three cases and improved in two of them. The total swallowing duration was improved by apomorphine in a subset of patients (n = 5). This improvement correlated with an improvement of the buccolinguofacial motoricity and was combined with an improvement of pharyngeal transit time. Thus central dopaminergic stimulation by apomorphine improved swallowing in a subgroup of patients, mainly in its early stages.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

A randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial of botulinum toxin in the treatment of spastic foot in hemiparetic patients.

OBJECTIVE: To confirm the apparent effectiveness of botulinum toxin (BTX) in hemiparetic patients with ankle plantar flexors and foot invertor spasticity. METHODS: Twenty three hemiparetic patients with spasticity of the ankle plantar flexors and foot invertors were included in a randomised double blind, placebo controlled study with BTX. Patients were examined on days 0, 30, 90, and 120 and received one injection of BTX and one of placebo in a random order at day 0 and day 90. RESULTS: Patients reported a clear subjective improvement in foot spasticity after BTX (P = 0.0014) but not after placebo. Significant changes were noted in Ashworth scale values for ankle extensors (P < 0.0001) and invertors (P = 0.0002), and for active ankle dorsiflexion (P = 0.0001). Gait velocity was slightly but not significantly (P = 0.0731) improved after BTX injections. The severity of spasticity did not modify treatment efficacy, but BTX was less effective in patients with longer duration of spasticity (P = 0.0081). CONCLUSION: The efficacy of BTX injections in the treatment of spastic foot suggests that BTX may be particularly useful during the first year after a stroke.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Restoration of gait by functional electrical stimulation for spinal cord injured patients.

In this clinical study, we report the results of functional electrical stimulation for the ambulation of paraplegic patients without long leg braces (LLB), according to the Parastep approach. Of 13 SCI patients with complete neurological lesions included in this trial, 12 progressed to independent ambulation with the aid of the Parastep. The average walking distance was 76 m, with a maximum of 350 m, and the mean speed 0.2 m s-1. Compared to the situation with long leg braces, which in fact are given up by most paraplegic patients, long term home use seems to be much more important. Tolerance of this method is satisfactory. The psychological benefits of the device are remarkable. From this experience, it is concluded that this method is valuable for the restoration of standing and walking in the long term management of spinal cord injury patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

The long term outcome in 149 patients with spinal cord injury.

A longitudinal follow-up study of 149 spinal cord injured patients is presented. Ninety two patients have been visited and interviewed at home 7-10 years after injury (28% died during the follow-up). Disability was assessed using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and was correlated with the neurological level, impairment and spasticity. The handicap was assessed using the Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI). Multivariate analysis showed a correlation with age, neurological impairment, sexual impairment, living conditions and social life. There was a high correlation with depression and the Functional Independence Measure. The early neurological examination correlated with their long term disability but not with their handicap.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1995

Propriospinal myoclonus in tetraplegic patients: clinical, electrophysiological and therapeutic aspects.

Propriospinal myoclonus is a rare and relatively little studied complication of spinal cord injury. We report two patients with an extension-producing myoclonus presenting with tetraplegia caused by cervical trauma. Rhythmic extension jerks of the trunk and lower limbs appeared several weeks after their injury in a context of severe spasticity. The characteristics of these jerks were determined by polymyography of 12 muscles. They lasted between 306 and 1127 ms with a frequency of 0.3 to 0.5 Hz. By comparing latencies their origin was found to be in the lumbar cord from which there was a slow (2 m s-1) upward and downward spread. Oral treatment with baclofen and sodium valproate was partially successful in one patient, but ineffective in the other. Intrathecal 75 or 100 micrograms baclofen produced a striking, complete disappearance of myoclonus prompting the implantation and successful use of a baclofen pump in one patient. These two new cases suggest the existence of a lumbar generator in which myoclonic extension jerks originate, and demonstrate a new therapeutic alternative in intrathecal baclofen for patients resistant to oral medication.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Mean term follow-up of a series of post-traumatic syringomyelia patients after syringo-peritoneal shunting.

We report the follow-up of a series of post-traumatic syringomyelia patients treated by syringo-peritoneal shunting (SPS). The neurological status was determined following the international ASIA/IMSOP standards for neurological classification of spinal cord injury; this was completed by a modified Silberstein classification that identifies the ascending neurological symptoms as well as the increasing myelopathic symptoms in patients with post-traumatic syringomyelia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was systematically performed to assess the presence of a postoperative residual syrinx or of meningeal fibrosis. Eight patients were studied (five men, three women) with an age ranging from 17 to 54 years (mean of 30.7 years) at the time of the spinal cord injury. Three had a complete or nearly complete paraplegia, five were incomplete. The post-traumatic syringomyelia was diagnosed from 2 to 8 years after the spinal cord injury and was treated by syringo-peritoneal shunting. Early complications occurred in three patients: (1) displacement of the catheter, (2) obstruction of the catheter, and (3) haematomyelia, which disappeared after a new surgical procedure was performed. The postoperative follow-up ranged from 3 to 9 years (mean of 4.5 years). The neurological level decreased in every case and the ascending neurological symptoms decreased or were stabilised in seven patients. The postoperative ASIA/IMSOP scores and the increasing myelopathic symptoms improved in four patients but worsened in the four others, incomplete. The MRI showed an important decrease of the syrinxes in every patient associated with a serious meningeal fibrosis in five cases. Syringo-peritoneal shunting seems to be efficient in the treatment of the syrinx but may have a poor effect regarding the prevention of meningeal fibrosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Severe axonal polyneuropathy with onset in the postpartum period.

We report two patients who presented severe polyneuropathy in the postpartum period. Electrophysiological studies evidenced an axonal process which was associated with proximal demyelination in the second patient. In both cases, a peripheral nerve biopsy showed severe axonal Wallerian-like degeneration and no feature of demyelination. The first patient had a dramatic loss of myelinated fibres, and severe disability persisted for several months. These two patients are different from cases of acute or chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy previously reported in relation with pregnancy.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Evolution of bladder contraction in course of time after implantation of a sacral anterior root stimulator.

We reviewed bladder contraction evolution after sacral anterior root stimulator implantation in thirty patients operated on from 1984 to 1991. Two patients underwent a complete denervation with a reinnervation within a maximal time of seventeen months. One patient underwent a lesion, like a neuropraxia with a complete recovery at four months. Five patients have undergone a partial denervation with a recovery of miction by neurostimulation within the time of eighteen months. In three patients, bladder contraction disappeared for various reasons.

Electric Stimulation Therapy↗
PubMed1993

[Electrostimulation of anterior sacral nerve roots in the treatment of central neurogenic bladders. G.S. Brindley's technique. Results of the 40 first French cases].

The results of the first 40 cases who underwent implantation of a sacral anterior root stimulator (G.S. Brindley) in France are reported. One patient die two years after implantation from an unrelated cause. 39 patients are using electrostimulation with a 6 month to 8 year follow-up. 90% have a satisfactory continence and no longer require an incontinence appliance. 82% of the patients have a post-void residue of 0 to 50 cc. Urinary infection rate has dramatically decreased. Bladder capacity and compliance have increased, and urethral closure pressure has decreased according to posterior rhizotomy. Possible side effect of total posterior rhizotomy from S2 to S4 could be stress incontinence.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Unilateral diaphragmatic paralysis: an electrophysiological study.

An electrophysiological study was carried out on four patients with unilateral diaphragmatic paralysis. Whereas neurogenic involvement of the paralysed hemidiaphragm was roughly similar in all cases, neurogenic patterns could be detected in the normally moving contralateral hemidiaphragm in three cases, and the degree of involvement could be correlated with the respiratory state of the patients. EMG also showed that the neuropathic process affected the limb muscles. Thus unilateral diaphragmatic paralysis may be, at least in some cases, the localised expression of a more diffuse neuropathy, perhaps a peculiar form of neuralgic amyotrophy.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Central pontine myelinolysis after hepatic transplantation].

We report two cases of central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) following liver transplantation. The incidence may well be underestimated as in the past the diagnosis of CPM was based on postmortem findings. Malnutrition, poor clinical condition, encephalopathy are common features of transplanted patients developing CPM. The clinical course is characterized by a biphasic pattern; after normal recovery from anesthesia, there is a subsequent and gradual deterioration in the neurological state. The complex syndrome associates loss of consciousness, flaccid quadriplegia and pseudobulbar palsy. Among the many factors suspected of inducing CPM, a rapid correction of natremia (> 12 mmole/l/day) seems most probable. With regards to liver transplantation, CPM presents rather specific problems. Delaying transplantation to correct hyponatremia carries a risk of severe hepatic encephalopathy. On the other hand, the intraoperative compensation of blood losses with high sodium content blood products tends to induce an abrupt rise in sodium serum concentration. Moreover, renal capacity to excrete sodium is often impaired, due to hepatic insufficiency and surgical procedure. Transplantation should not be delayed, but as infusion of large amounts of sodium cannot be avoided (fresh frozen plasma, human albumin, red blood cells), natremia may be controlled by continuous veno-venous hemofiltration with low sodium content substitution fluids.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Parkinson disease and communication].

Communication abilities imply multifactorial analysis. These disorders in Parkinson's disease involve speech, graphism, functional and paraverbal gestures. The patient's isolation in a major form of disease is dramatic. Functional study requires an analysis of each factor; progress should be realized for an objective approach. With a therapeutic objective in view, the most impaired features, and the patients real situation and way of life must be evaluated. Some training measures are useful especially for social adjustment and motivational reinforcement.

Communication↗