Electromyographic responses in leg muscles after electrical stimulation in myelopathy patients with tonic seizures

The electromyographic (EMG) responses in leg muscles after electrical stimulation of the peripheral nerves were examined in patients with myelopathy. The stimuli were delivered to the tibial nerve at the ankle joint. The EMG responses were recorded from the anterior tibial muscle at the latencies of 80-280 ms. In myelopathy patients with tonic seizures in the extremities, the EMG responses evoked both by single and repeated stimulation were frequently observed. Electrical stimulation also provoked the following tonic seizures in the legs. Stimulation of the back of the big toe or of the sural nerve, also produced the EMG responses in the anterior tibial muscle, and tonic seizure in the leg. There was no difference in the appearance of the EMG responses between patients with and without pain sensation during the seizure. A kind of flexor reflex might be related to tonic seizures in patients with myelopathy, at least in part.