Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Determining and Controlling External Power Output During Regular Handrim Wheelchair Propulsion
Published on: February 5, 2020
Damaged cardiovascular autonomic control in wheelchair-using children and adolescents with myelomeningocele: a
Marisa Maia Leonardi-Figueiredo1, Hugo Celso Dutra de Souza1, Emanuela Juvenal Martins1
1Department of Healthy Sciences, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
Background:
Cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction is associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases, but little is known about it in children and adolescents with myelomeningocele.
Objective:
This study investigated the cardiovascular autonomic function in wheelchair-using children and adolescents with myelomeningocele.
Methods:
Twenty-two participants were assigned to one of two groups: myelomeningocele group (n=11) and Control group (n=11). Heart rate variability and systolic blood pressure variability were collected in supine resting position using spectral analyses. Spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity was collected by time-domain through the sequence method.
Results:
At rest, heart rate was higher in myelomeningocele group when compared to Control group (mean difference 22.1, 95% CI 4.82-39.40; p=0.01). The heart rate and systolic blood pressure variability parameters did not show differences between groups. However, myelomeningocele showed lower gain mean in baroreflex sensitivity (mean difference -4.5, 95% CI -8.47 to -0.60; p=0.02), when compared to Control.
Conclusion:
Wheelchair-using children and adolescents with myelomeningocele presented differences in the autonomic cardiovascular function. This may be associated with hypomobility due to wheelchair dependence, and venous muscle pump insufficiency due to paraplegia.
Related Concept Videos
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
Control System Problem
When forming a closed-loop system, issues can arise if the poles cross into the unstable region, leading to potential...
Combinatorial Gene Control
The expression of more than 30,000 genes is controlled by approximately 2000-3000 transcription factors. This is possible because a single transcription factor can recognize more than one regulatory sequence. The specificity in gene...
Control Systems
At the heart...
Controller Configurations
Control-system compensation involves various configurations, most commonly series or cascade compensation, in which the controller...
PID Controller

