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Published on: April 18, 2011
Cutaneous reflexes from the foot during gait in hereditary spastic paraparesis
J Duysens1, B C M Baken, L Burgers
1Department of Biophysics, University Medical Center, University of Nijmegen, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. jaak@mbfys.kun.nl
Objective:
It is known that P2 cutaneous reflexes from the foot show phase-dependent modulation during gait. The role of the motor cortex and the cortico-spinal tract in these reflexes and their modulation is unknown. Patients with hereditary spastic paraparesis (HSP) have a lesion in the cortico-spinal tract and may show deficits in P2 reflexes and/or their modulation.
Methods:
Reflex responses of tibialis anterior and biceps femoris after sural nerve stimulation in 10 HSP-patients were compared with those in 10 healthy subjects. The reflexes were studied at two different moments in the step cycle during walking on a treadmill.
Results:
Both patients and controls showed a phase-dependent modulation of P2 responses. For the individual muscles, no significant difference in reflex activity was observed between HSP-patients and the controls. However, when all muscles were taken together, the reflex activity for the controls was significantly higher than for the patients.
Conclusions:
The results of this study suggest that the cortico-spinal tract is involved in the regulation of the amplitude of the P2 responses and their phase-dependent modulation.
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