OBJECTIVES There is a need for better, noninvasive quantitative biomarkers for assessing the rate of progression and possible response to therapy in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). In this study, we compared three electrophysiological measures: compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude, motor unit number estimate (MUNE), and electrical impedance myography (EIM) 50 kHz phase values in a m...

INTRODUCTION Several studies have shown a significant amplitude decrement in compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) on repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) of muscles involved in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In ALS, muscle wasting preferentially affects the thenar muscles (APB) rather than the hypothenar muscles (ADM). METHODS We performed RNS studies in the APB and ADM muscles of 32...

Despite the extensive use of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) in treatments for glabellar frown lines, the dose-response effect in the glabellar muscles remains unknown. The aim of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled prospective study was to characterize the neurophysiological parameters that correlate with the effect of BoNT-A in the glabellar muscles and its diffusion to surround...

Despite the extensive use of botulinum toxin A (BoNTA) in medical and cosmetic treatments, the potential spreading of BoNTA to surrounding tissues remains unknown. A patient with hemifacial paralysis upon blepharospasm treatment with low dose of BoNTA, prompted us to investigate the spreading effect. A randomised, double-blind study was conducted in which 5 healthy women (33-52 years) were trea...

The Socio-Cognitive Systems (SCS) Section at Defence Research and Development Canada—Toronto (DRDC Toronto) has undertaken a Technology Investment Fund (TIF) Project entitled “A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Armed Non-state Actors (ANSAs): Strategic Roles and Operational Dynamics.” The aim of this Project is to advance our understanding of (a) the strategic roles of ANSAs in the contex...

INTRODUCTION Compound muscle action potential (CMAP) scans are detailed stimulus-response curves which provide information about motor unit properties in neuromuscular disorders. This study assessed a method of automatic motor unit number estimation (MUNE) from 5-min CMAP scans. METHODS A preliminary model, derived from the variance and slope of the scan, is refined to fit the CMAP scan more ...

Widget is not a new computing concept, but it has recently attracted much research interest because of its potential uses in a range of technological products/services. In assuming the challenge to develop an evaluation scheme for widgets/widget-based applications, some conceptual ambiguities about widget, especially its distinction from portlet, need to be clarified first. A survey aiming to c...

This paper, theoretically, examines concepts, propositions, and establishes the need for and develops an extension to Concept Maps (CMaps) called Cyclic Concept Maps (Cyclic CMaps). The Cyclic CMap is considered to be an appropriate tool for representing knowledge of functional or dynamic relationships between concepts. The Concept Map (CMap), on the other hand, is viewed as an appropriate tool...

[Purpose] To clarify the features associated with decrements in compound muscle action potentials (CMAP) during slow-rate repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) of muscles involved in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in mainland China. [Subjects and Methods] A retrospective study of decremental responses to slow-rate RNS was performed to compare patients with ALS to those with myasthenia gravis ...