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Lack of trigemino‐cervical reflexes in progressive supranuclear palsy
Author(s) -
Bartolo Michelangelo,
Serrao Mariano,
Perrotta Armando,
Tassorelli Cristina,
Sandrini Giorgio,
Pierelli Francesco
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
movement disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.352
H-Index - 198
eISSN - 1531-8257
pISSN - 0885-3185
DOI - 10.1002/mds.22039
Subject(s) - brainstem , progressive supranuclear palsy , reflex , neuroscience , medicine , degenerative disease , neurology , parkinson's disease , psychology , central nervous system disease , pathology , disease
Abstract Trigemino‐cervical reflexes (TCRs) are multisynaptic neck muscle withdrawal responses that are clearly identifiable in humans. Mediated by neural circuits at brainstem level, these reflex responses have been found to be significantly impaired in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and it has been hypothesized that a degeneration of brainstem neural structures could play a role in these abnormalities. Because extensive neuronal degeneration at brainstem level has been demonstrated in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), in this pilot study we evaluated the TCR responses in 12 subjects with PSP, and in 16 healthy controls. The TCRs were absent in 11 out of the 12 PSP patients while clear responses were evoked in all the healthy subjects. These findings indicate that PSP patients are unable to react to the painful stimuli to the face, suggesting a generalized impairment of the brainstem circuits mediating TCRs. © 2008 Movement Disorder Society