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Evaluation of therapeutic electrical stimulation to improve muscle strength and function in children with types II/III spinal muscular atrophy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2002

Darcy L Fehlings ,
Susan Kirsch ,
Alan McComas ,
Mary Chipman  and
Kent Campbell
Darcy L Fehlings
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Bloorview MacMillan Children's Centre, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Susan Kirsch
Affiliation:
Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Alan McComas
Affiliation:
McMaster University Medical CentreCanada.
Mary Chipman
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Kent Campbell
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
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Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of low-intensity night-time therapeutic electrical stimulation (TES) on arm strength and function in children with intermediate type spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The design was a randomized controlled trial with a 6-month baseline control period. Children were evaluated at baseline, 6, and 12 months. TES was applied from 6 to 12 months to the deltoid and biceps muscle, of a randomly selected arm with the opposite arm receiving a placebo stimulator. Thirteen individuals with SMA between 5 to 19 years of age were recruited into the study and eight completed the 12-month assessment. No statistically significant differences between the treatment and control arm were found at baseline, 6, and 12 months for elbow flexors, or shoulder abductors on quantitative myometry or manual muscle testing. There was no significant change in excitable muscle mass assessed by M-wave amplitudes, nor function on the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (self-care domain). Therefore, in this study there was no evidence that TES improved strength in children with SMA.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology , Volume 44 , Issue 11 , November 2002 , pp. 741 - 744
Copyright
© 2002 Mac Keith Press

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