Age and Gender Differences in Skin Sensory Threshold Assessed by Current Perception in Community-Dwelling Japanese

Takekuma, Kiyoshi; Ando, Fujiko; Niino, Naoakira; Shimokata, Hiroshi

doi:10.2188/jea.10.1sup_33

Cited by 51 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Interestingly, the only dermatome that showed statistically significant difference between men and women (L3) in our control group was also found to differ between genders in the study by Davey et al 12 The only dermatome that showed increased threshold values with age in our control group was dermatome L5 on the foot. Agerelated differences in our study may have been minimised by the use of the low stimulation frequency, which has also been observed by others 7,16 albeit with the use of sinusoidally varying current waveforms rather than repetitive pulses. Additionally, however, it is worth mentioning that our control group had no subjects over the age of 55 years.…”

Section: Development Of the Technique In The Control Groupsupporting

confidence: 65%

Perceptual threshold to cutaneous electrical stimulation in patients with spinal cord injury

et al. 2006

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Study design: Prospective experimental. Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop a quantitative sensory test (QST) that could be used for assessing the level and the density (degree of impairment) of spinal cord injury (SCI) and for monitoring neurological changes in patients with SCI. Setting: National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust, UK. Methods: Perceptual threshold to 3 Hz cutaneous electrical stimulation was measured in 30 control subjects and in 45 patients with SCI at American Spinal Injuries Association (ASIA) sensory key points for selected dermatomes between C3 and S2 bilaterally. Electrical perceptual threshold (EPT) was recorded as the lowest ascending stimulus intensity out of three tests at which the subject reported sensation. The level of SCI according to EPT results was established for right and left sides as the most caudal spinal segment at which patient's EPT was within the control range (mean72 standard deviation (SD)). The level of SCI, according to EPT, was then compared with clinical sensory level derived according to ASIA classification. Results: In the control group, EPT depended on the dermatome tested and was lowest for T1 (1.0170.23 mA, mean7SD) and highest for L5 (3.3271.14 mA). There was strong correlation between corresponding right and left dermatomes and between repeated assessments. In the SCI group, the level of lesion according to EPT and clinical testing was the same in 43 of the 90 tests (48%). In 37 cases (41%), the EPT level was higher than the clinical level, and in 10 cases (11%), it was lower. Below the level of lesion in incomplete SCI and in the zone of partial preservation in complete SCI, the EPT values in most dermatomes were raised compared with the control group. Conclusions: EPT is a simple, reproducible QST that can assess both the level and the density of SCI. It seems to add sensitivity and resolution to the standard clinical testing and could be a useful adjunct in longitudinal monitoring of patients with SCI for research purposes during natural recovery and therapeutic interventions.

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Section: Development Of the Technique In The Control Groupsupporting

confidence: 65%

Perceptual threshold to cutaneous electrical stimulation in patients with spinal cord injury

et al. 2006

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“…Other groups have found that PT increases with age (Takekuma et al 2000) but that the change is more pronounced using higher frequencies of stimulation around 250-2000 Hz. This result compliments another study showing that thresholds to vibration stimuli increase with age (Merchut & Toleikis, 1990).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Another study looked specifically at PT to 50 Hz electrical stimulation in order to assess how individuals detect electrical safety hazards; women were found to have lower PTs and so be more able to detect leakage of mains current (Irnich & Batz, 1989). Takekuma et al (2000) also reported differences between the sexes, particularly using stimulation frequencies of 5 and 250 Hz. They suggested that this might be due to sexual dimorphism in the distribution of afferent nerve fibre types.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Somatotopy of Perceptual Threshold to Cutaneous Electrical Stimulation in Man

Davey

Nowicky

Zaman

2001

Experimental Physiology

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Neurological testing tools for measuring and monitoring somatosensory function lack resolution and are often dependent on the clinician testing. In this study we have measured perceptual threshold (PT) to electrical stimulation of the skin and compared it with two‐point discriminative ability (TPDA) in 12 control subjects. Tests were made on both sides of the body at American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) key points on seven spinal dermatomes (C3 (neck), C4 (shoulder), C5 (upper arm), C6 (thumb), T8 (abdomen), L3 (knee), L5 (foot)) and in the mandibular (chin) and maxillary (cheek) fields of the trigeminal (V) nerve. Electrical stimulation (0.5 ms pulse width; 3 Hz) was applied via a self‐adhesive cathode and an anode strapped to the wrist or ankle. The stimulus intensity was adjusted and PT was recorded as the lowest current at which the subject reported sensation. Sites were tested in random order. Indices for both TPDA and PT differed according to the dermatome tested but there was no correlation between TPDA and PT for any dermatome. There was good correlation between results from equivalent dermatomes on left and right sides for both PT and TPDA. Women frequently had lower mean (± s.e.) PTs and better TPDA than men; differences were significant (P < 0.05) for PT on the knee (women, 1.31 ± 0.15 mA; men, 2.05 ± 0.26 mA) and the foot (women, 2.90 ± 0.19 mA; men, 4.13 ± 0.28 mA) and for TPDA on the thumb (women, 3.8 ± 0.2 mm; men, 7.8 ± 1.3 mm) and the knee (women, 17.8 ± 1.6 mm; men, 27.1 ± 4.0 mm). Four subjects repeated the experiment on another day and the results correlated well with the first test for PT (r2, 0.62) and TPDA (r2, 0.48). PT differs between dermatomes in a predictable way but does not relate to TPDA. PT is easy to measure and may be a useful assessment tool with which to monitor recovery or deterioration in neuropathies, neurotrauma or after surgery.

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“…Normal voiding has been shown to be dependent on Aδ-fiber bladder afferents, whereas Cfiber afferents are responsible for bladder nociceptive responses 16,17 . The previous and successful use of Neurometer® and measurement of current perception threshold (CPT) in cutaneous afferent sites [13][14][15] makes this technique an attractive modality to assess the status of the specific afferent nerve fibers in the bladder or other visceral organs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For sensory testing we used a battery operated Neurometer® (Neurotron, Inc., Baltimore, MD) capable of generating constant Alternating Current (AC) stimuli between 0.001 and 9.99 mA with quartz crystal calibrated sinusoid waveform stimuli at frequencies of 5 Hz, 250 Hz and 2000 Hz. In previous publications using the Neurometer, the response of subjects to stimuli was termed "current perception threshold (CPT)" [13][14][15] . Instead, we use the term Sensory Perception Threshold (SPT) for the values obtained in response to bladder stimulation.…”

Section: Device (Electrode)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy of a Novel Device for Assessment of Autonomic Sensory Function in the Rat Bladder

et al. 2008

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Purpose-We developed and tested the efficacy of an implantable bladder device which, when combined with the Neurometer®, can be used to assess fiber-specific afferent sensation of the bladder in the rat.Materials and Methods-We developed an implantable bladder device which applies selective nerve fiber stimuli (250 Hz for small myelinated (Aδ), and 5 Hz for unmyelinated (C) fibers) to the bladder mucosa in the rat in order to obtain the bladder sensory perception threshold (SPT) values. We performed three experiments on fifty-five female Sprague-Dawley rats, examining the effects of our device on voiding habits; assessing the inter-observer reliability of SPT; and the effects of intravesical administration of resiniferatoxin and lidocaine on the SPT. Results-The SPT values obtained by two blinded, independent observers were not different from one another (p= 0.41). The SPT values obtained at both stimulation frequencies remained constant for at least 3 weeks after device implantation. A significant increase in SPT values after instillation of resiniferatoxin (p = 0.02) was noted at a stimulus frequency of 5 Hz, whereas intravesical lidocaine led to an immediate increase in SPT at both 250 and 5 Hz. Device implantation led to an early decreased voided volume and increased frequency of voids, however these parameters returned to normal after 4 days.Conclusions-Assessment of bladder afferent sensation with our newly developed device is feasible in rats, and provides sensory perception thresholds that appear to be fiber-type selective for autonomic bladder afferent nerves.

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Age and Gender Differences in Skin Sensory Threshold Assessed by Current Perception in Community-Dwelling Japanese

Cited by 51 publications

References 20 publications

Perceptual threshold to cutaneous electrical stimulation in patients with spinal cord injury

Perceptual threshold to cutaneous electrical stimulation in patients with spinal cord injury

Somatotopy of Perceptual Threshold to Cutaneous Electrical Stimulation in Man

Efficacy of a Novel Device for Assessment of Autonomic Sensory Function in the Rat Bladder

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