Somatosensory evoked potentials in chronic alcoholics with spasticity
Y. Kokubun, M. Oishi, T. Takasu and S. Sakamaki
Department of Neurology, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo.
Somatosensory evoked potentials to median and bilateral tibial nerve
stimulation were investigated in eight chronic alcoholics with spasticity,
12 patients with alcoholic polyneuropathy, and 11 normal subjects. Central
conduction velocities from the third lumbar vertebra to the fifth cervical
vertebra and from the 12th thoracic vertebra to the fifth cervical vertebra
were significantly lower in the chronic alcoholics with spasticity than in
the alcoholic polyneuropathy group and in the healthy nonalcoholic group.
The result indicates that chronic alcoholics with spasticity have
conduction disturbance in the posterior column and/or the medial lemniscus,
which is considered to be due to alcoholic myelopathy and/or a brainstem
lesion.