Neurology - Noninvasive Evaluation of the Nervous System
Autonomic nervous system abnormalities are common in neurological diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, complex regional pain syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis etc. There is a need to study noninvasive systemic autonomic and hemodynamic function in these patients to manifest clinical consequences. So far, many studies report the usefulness of assessing continuous hemodynamic parameters in the context of Neurology. Scientific applications and literature that used CNSystems’ technology are summarized here:
Parkinson’s disease causes autonomic dysfunctions and leads to abnormalities in cardiovascular regulation. With the use of our The Task Force® Monitor a decrease in LF/HF ratio and the sympathovagal balance disorders was measured (Zawadka et al., 2012).
Researchers from New York, US and Bilbao, Spain compared active standing vs. passive head up tilt (HUT) in the diagnosis of orthostatic hypotension in patients with Parkinson’s disease (Kaufmann et al., 2013). In younger patients with Parkinson’s disease active standing and HUT showed similar prevalence of orthostatic hypotension. However, among patients 60 years and older the prevalence was significantly higher with HUT than with active standing.
At the Department of Neurosciences from the University of the Basque Country in Spain, recently a study was performed to analyze autonomic function and cardiac sympathetic innervation in symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers of the E46K alpha-synuclein gene (SNCA) mutation (Tijero et al., 2012). Heart rate and blood pressure variability in relation to different physical maneuvers were analysed using the Task Force® Monitor. The maneuvers consisted of Tilt Table testing, the Valsalva maneuver, isometric contraction and deep breathing.
Aydemir et al. (2010) from Turkey conducted a study to investigate autonomic nervous system dysfunction in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Heart rate variability parameters (the power of the high- [HF] and low-frequency [LF] band of hemodynamic time series, the ratio between low- and high-frequency components [LF/HF ratio], the power spectral density), baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and beat-to-beat blood pressures were assessed by the noninvasive Task Force® Monitor. Evaluation revealed that deterioration of sophisticated autonomic parameters (such as HRV and BRS) was more pronounced in the patient groups compared with controls.
Researchers from Belgium studied systemic autonomic and hemodynamic function in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) patients during rest, and during orthostatic and mental arithmetic stress (Terkelsen et al., 2011). The increased heart rate and decreased heart rate variability in CRPS suggest a general autonomic imbalance, which is an independent predictor for increased mortality and sudden death.
Romanian researchers from the Department of Neurology showed that altered autonomic control of the heart could be one of the pathophysiological links between hypertension and psychological factors (Bajkó et al., 2012). Kovács et al. (2010) found that a decrease in neuropsychological performance along with alterations of cardiovascular parameters is an early manifestation of hypertension.
Devices designed for the use in Neurology:
See also:
Task Force® Monitor Applications
Task Force® Monitor Product Information
