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Electrostimulation Effects of the Vagus Nerve on Balance in Epilepsy
Author(s) -
CLARKE BEVERLEY M.,
UPTON ADRIAN R.M.,
KAMATH MARK,
GRIFFIN HELENE M.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
pacing and clinical electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.686
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1540-8159
pISSN - 0147-8389
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8159.1992.tb02942.x
Subject(s) - medicine , vagus nerve , physical medicine and rehabilitation , vagus nerve stimulation , balance (ability) , homogeneous , epilepsy , audiology , physical therapy , stimulation , psychiatry , physics , thermodynamics
Preliminary results of selected postural measures in quiet standing indicate that stimulation of the vagus nerve appears not to be producing adverse effects. With this specific sample size, more testing is needed to determine long‐term effects and future data analyses will examine correlations between electroencephalogram results, drug levels, and seizure frequency. In the present study three subjects have had old injuries to hips and ankles. Two subjects had normal values for postural control prior to stimulation, while other subjects were severely abnormal. In future, studies should include larger homogeneous sample sizes, as the current subjects show marked variability in age and premorbid health backgrounds. Future work should also control more vigorously for variables such as visual input (i.e., blindfolding subjects instead of simply closing the eyes). Evaluation of postural control mechanisms will be continued to assess stability changes in these patients as seizure frequency continues to subside.