Ultrasound Evaluation of Upper Limb Sublesional Muscle Morphology in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury.

Introduction/aims: Upper limb paralysis is arguably the most limiting consequence of cervical spinal cord injury (cSCI). There is limited knowledge regarding the early structural changes of muscles implicated in grasp/pinch function and upper extremity nerve transfer surgeries. We evaluated: (1) muscle size and echo intensity (EI) in subacute cSCI (2-6 months) and (2) the influence of lower motor neuron (LMN) damage on these ultrasound parameters.

Segmental infralesional pathological spontaneous activity in subacute traumatic spinal cord injury.

Introduction/aims: There is a dearth of knowledge regarding the status of infralesional lower motor neurons (LMNs) in individuals with traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (SCI), yet there is a growing need to understand how the spinal lesion impacts LMNs caudal to the lesion epicenter, especially in the context of nerve transfer surgery to restore several key upper limb functions. Our objective was to determine the frequency of pathological spontaneous activity (PSA) at, and below, the level of spinal injury, to gain an understanding of LMN health below the spinal lesion.

Methods: Ninety-one limbs in 57 individuals (53 males, mean age = 44.

Interdisciplinary spasticity management clinic outcomes using the Goal Attainment Scale: A retrospective chart review.

Objective: To generate practice-based evidence of outcomes in an interdisciplinary spasticity management clinic using practical application of the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS).

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Patients: A total of 225 adult patients who were referred for spasticity management at a tertiary rehabilitation hospital and returned for follow-up between 2010 and 2013.

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Causing Phantom Hand Pain in a Person With a Transradial Amputation: A Case Presentation.

In this case, a 47-year-old commercial truck driver with a remote right transradial amputation presented with pain in the medial aspect of his right phantom hand. He was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). This was attributed to the muscular demands associated with using his body-powered prosthesis for many years.

Early adjunct treatment with topical lidocaine results in improved pain and function in a patient with complex regional pain syndrome.

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a pain disorder characterized by sensory, motor, trophic and autonomic dysfunction. The hallmark of the disorder is pain out of proportion of the inciting event. CRPS is difficult for clinicians to manage as there is no gold standard for diagnosis or treatment.

Second meiotic spindle integrity requires MEK/MAP kinase activity in mouse eggs.

ERK-type MAP kinase activity is required for normal first meiotic (MI) metaphase spindle dynamics and first polar body formation at the MI/MII transition, and for MII arrest until egg activation. MEK and MAPK, however, remain active until meiosis is completed and pronuclei form, but whether MEK/MAPK activity affects MII spindle function during egg activation has been unknown. Polarized light microscopy revealed that the MII spindle rapidly (within approximately 15 min) lost birefringence upon treatment of the egg with U0126, indicating decreased organization at the molecular level upon MEK inhibition.