Innervation zone locations in 43 superficial muscles: Toward a standardization of electrode positioning

Introduction: We describe the innervation zone (IZ) location in 43 muscles to provide information for appropriate positioning of bipolar electrodes for clinical and research applications. Methods: The IZ was studied in 40 subjects (20 men and 20 women) using multichannel surface electromyography (sEMG). Signal quality was checked visually to identify motor unit action potentials and estimate muscle fiber conduction velocity. Results: Results in 33 muscles were classified as excellent or good, because it was possible to identify an area which is favorable for appropriate positioning of an electrode pair without the need to previously determine the IZ location. Conclusions: Knowledge of IZ location will increase standardization and repeatability of sEMG measures. Muscle Nerve 49 :413–421, 2014     

Sibling concordance for clinical features of Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies

Introduction: The correlation of markers of disease severity among brothers with Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy has implications for clinical guidance and clinical trials. Methods: Sibling pairs with Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy (n = 60) were compared for ages when they reached clinical milestones of disease progression, including ceased ambulation, scoliosis of ≥ 20°, and development of cardiomyopathy. Results: The median age at which younger brothers reached each milestone, compared with their older brothers ranged from 25 months younger for development of cardiomyopathy to 2 months older for ceased ambulation. For each additional month of ambulation by the older brother, the hazard of ceased ambulation by the younger brother decreased by 4%. Conclusions: The ages when siblings reach clinical milestones of disease vary widely between siblings. However, the time to ceased ambulation for older brothers predicts the time to ceased ambulation for their younger brothers. Muscle Nerve 49 : 814–821, 2014     

Lung ultrasound as a tool to guide respiratory physiotherapy

Lung ultrasound (LUS) is becoming an invaluable tool in the management of critically ill patients. We report two cases showing the importance of LUS as a guide to optimize respiratory physiotherapy in the intensive care unit, allowing a successful lung donation process and to redirect the physiotherapist's approach. The use of LUS requires an adequate training but it is becoming an important tool in management algorithms for critically ill patients.     

Sleep in mothers of children with epilepsy and its relation to their children's sleep

We conducted a cross-sectional study to examine sleep in mothers of children with epilepsy and its relation to their children's sleep. A total of 133 dyads of mothers and children with epilepsy aged 1.5–6 years were recruited between 2015 and 2018 from a children's hospital in northern Taiwan. Participating families provided demographic and health information, with children wearing an actigraphy monitor for 7 days and mothers completing sleep and depressive mood questionnaires. We found that 76 (57.1%) of the mothers had poor sleep quality, with 65 (48.9%) mothers having a clinically significant depressive symptom score. Mean actigraphic wake after sleep onset in children was 1.42 (standard deviation = 0.51) hours, with 126 (94.7%) of the children having a clinically significant sleep disturbance score. Multivariate regression analyses showed that higher depressive symptom scores in mothers (β = 0.14; p < .01) and higher sleep disturbance scores in children (β = 0.07; p = .04) were associated with poorer maternal sleep quality, even when maternal demographic characteristics and the child's clinical and epilepsy variables were considered. Findings from our study suggest that sleep disturbances are a shared problem for mothers and their children with epilepsy. Sleep in both mothers and their children with epilepsy should be evaluated in pediatric neurologic practices, with maternal depressive symptoms screened concurrently. Future pediatric epilepsy studies are warranted to examine whether a family-based intervention program would be effective to improve sleep in mother-child dyads and to promote better health and functioning of the entire family.