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Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

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  • Title: Brain plasticity in the motor network is correlated with disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
    Author: Poujois A, Schneider FC, Faillenot I, Camdessanché JP, Vandenberghe N, Thomas-Antérion C, Antoine JC.
    Journal: Hum Brain Mapp; 2013 Oct; 34(10):2391-401. PubMed ID: 22461315.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: To test the influence of functional cerebral reorganization in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on disease progression. METHODS: Nineteen predominantly right-handed ALS patients and 21 controls underwent clinical evaluation, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), and diffusion tensor imaging. Patients were clinically re-evaluated 1 year later and followed until death. For fMRI, subjects executed and imagined a simple hand-motor task. Between-group comparisons were performed, and correlations were searched with motor deficit arm Medical Research Council (MRC) score, disease progression ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS), and survival time. RESULTS: By the MRC score, the hand strength was lowered by 12% in the ALS group predominating on the right side in accordance with an abnormal fractional anisotropy (FA) limited to the left corticospinal tract (37.3% reduction vs. controls P < 0.01). Compared to controls, patients displayed overactivations in the controlateral parietal (P < 0.004) and somatosensory (P < 0.004) cortex and in the ipsilateral parietal (P < 0.01) and somatosensory (P < 0.01) cortex to right-hand movement. Movement imagination gave similar results while no difference occurred with left-hand tasks. Stepwise regression analysis corrected for multiple comparisons showed that controlateral parietal activity was inversely correlated with disease progression (R(2) = 0.43, P = 0.001) and ipsilateral somatosensory activations with the severity of the right-arm deficit (R(2) = 0.48, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Cortical Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal changes occur in the brain of ALS patients during a simple hand-motor task when the motor deficit is still moderate. It is correlated with the rate of disease progression suggesting that brain functional rearrangement in ALS may have prognostic implications.
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