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The applicability of the digit wrinkle scan to quantify sympathetic nerve function
Maurice Sopacua1,2, Carla M L Gorissen-Brouwers1, Bianca T A de Greef1
1Department of Neurology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Clinical Neurophysiology Practice
|April 18, 2022
Summary
The Stimulated Skin Wrinkling test (SSW) has established age-dependent values, but moderate reliability limits clinical use. A new digital method, Digit Wrinkle Scan (DWS), shows potential for quantitative wrinkle assessment.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Gerontology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- The Stimulated Skin Wrinkling test (SSW) is a non-invasive diagnostic tool.
- Normative age-dependent values for SSW are lacking for clinical application.
- Quantitative assessment of skin wrinkling requires improved methodologies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish age-dependent normative values for the SSW using a 5-point scale.
- To assess the reliability of the SSW and introduce a novel digital method, Digit Wrinkle Scan (DWS).
- To quantitatively measure skin wrinkles using the DWS©.
Main Methods:
- Collected age-dependent normative values from 82 healthy participants across 5 age groups using SSW.
- Assessed inter-observer reliability for the 5-point SSW scale and intra-observer reliability for DWS©.
- Evaluated the DWS©'s quantitative wrinkle assessment capabilities on 35 healthy participants.
Main Results:
- Normative SSW values showed a decrease with increasing age.
- Inter-observer reliability for the 5-point SSW scale was moderate (Cohen's k: 0.53).
- DWS© demonstrated moderate to good agreement for wrinkle length on the 4th and 5th digits, with low agreement on others.
Conclusions:
- Age-dependent normative values for SSW were established but exhibit moderate inter-observer reliability, questioning clinical utility.
- The Digit Wrinkle Scan (DWS©) was introduced as a potential new method for quantitative wrinkle assessment.
- Unsatisfactory reliability scores for the SSW limit its current clinical usefulness.
