Background Syncope is common in children and adolescents, with 15% estimated to have had at least one syncopal episode by age 18. In recent years, an increasing number of children, especially girls at their school age...Background Syncope is common in children and adolescents, with 15% estimated to have had at least one syncopal episode by age 18. In recent years, an increasing number of children, especially girls at their school age, have developed unexplained syncope. The mechanism of an unexplained syncope exhibited by children is incompletely studied; the association between different hemodynamic patterns and clinical features is also not clear. The aim of the study was to investigate the hemodynamic patterns of children with unexplained syncope and to examine the clinical relevance. Methods Two hundred and eight children [87 boys, 121 girls, aged 3-19 years, mean （11.66±2.72） years] were selectively recruited from May 2000 to April 2006 when they presented syncope as their main complaint at the Multi-center Network for Childhood Syncope in Beijing, Hunan Province, Hubei Province, and Shanghai of China. All of the patients underwent head-up tilt tests; data were analyzed using SPSS version 10.0 for Windows. Continuous variables were expressed as the mean± standard deviation. Dichotomous variables were compared through a X^2 test. A value of P〈0.05 （two sided） was regarded as statistically significant. Results The age distribution of children with syncope was approximately normal. Head-up tilt tests was positive in 155 children, and the incidence of positive response of the baseline head-up tilt test for diagnosing unexplained syncope was 50.48%. The sensitivity value and diagnostic value of sublingual nitroglycerin head-up tilt test were both 74.52%. The hemodynamic pattern was normal in 53 children. The 155 children, who were positive in head-up tilt tests, showed signs of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome （60, 28.8%）, the vasoinhibitory pattern （72, 34.6%）, the cardioinhibitory pattern （5, 2.4%）, and the mixed pattern （18, 8.7%）. The gender distribution between the two age groups （age 〈 12 years vs age ≥ 12 years） was not different （P〉0.05）. The distribution of hemodynamic 展开更多
This study was to investigate the changes of autonomic nerve function and hemodynamics in patients with vasovagal syncope(VVS) during head-up tilt-table testing(HUT). HUT was performed in 68 patients with unexplained ...This study was to investigate the changes of autonomic nerve function and hemodynamics in patients with vasovagal syncope(VVS) during head-up tilt-table testing(HUT). HUT was performed in 68 patients with unexplained syncope and 18 healthy subjects served as control group. According to whether bradycardia, hypotension or both took place during the onset of syncope, the patients were divided during the test into three subgroups: vasodepressor syncope(VD), cardioinhibitory syncope(CI) and mixed syncope(MX) subgroups. Heart rate, blood pressure, heart rate variability(HRV), and deceleration capacity(DC) were continuously analyzed during HUT. For all the subjects with positive responses, the normalized low frequency(LFn) and the LF/HF ratio markedly decreased whereas normalized high frequency(HFn) increased when syncope occurred. Syncopal period also caused more significant increase in the power of the DC in positive groups. These changes were more exaggerated compared to controls. All the patients were indicative of a sympathetic surge in the presence of withdrawal vagal activity before syncope and a sympathetic inhibition with a vagal predominance at the syncopal stage by the frequency-domain analysis of HRV. With the measurements of DC, a decreased vagal tone before syncope stage and a vagal activation at the syncopal stage were observed. The vagal tone was higher in subjects showing cardioinhibitory responses at the syncopal stage. DC may provide an alternative method to understand the autonomic profile of VVS patients.展开更多
Background： Few studies have focused on peripheral nerve conduction during exposure to microgravity. The -6° head-down tilt （HDT） comprises an experimental model used to simulate the space flight environment. ...Background： Few studies have focused on peripheral nerve conduction during exposure to microgravity. The -6° head-down tilt （HDT） comprises an experimental model used to simulate the space flight environment. This study investigated nerve conduction characteristics of rhesus monkeys before and alter prolonged exposure to H DT. Methods： Six rhesus monkeys （3-4 years old） were tilted backward 6° from the horizontal. Nerve conduction studies （NCSs） were performed on the median, ulnar, tibial, and fibular motor nerves. Analysis of variance with a randomized block design was conducted to compare the differences in the NCS belbre and 7, 2 l, and 42 days alter the 6° HDT. Results： The proximal amplitude of the CMAP of the median nerve was significantly decreased at 21 and 42 days of HDT compared with the amplitude before HDT （4.38 ± 2.83 vs. 8.40 ±2.66 mV, F = 4.85, P = 0.013 and 3.30± 2.70 vs. 8.40± 2.66 mV, F = 5.93, P = 0.004, respectively）. The distal amplitude of the CMAP of the median nerve was significantly decreased at 7, 21, and 42 days of HDT compared with the amplitude before HDT （7.28 ± 1.27 vs. 10.25 ± 3.40 mV, F= 4.03, P = 0.039; 5.05 ± 2.01 vs. 10.25 ± 3.40 mV, F = 6.25, P = 0.04; and 3.95 ± 2.79 vs. 10.25 ± 3.40 mV, F = 7.35, F=- 0.01; respectively）. The proximal amplitude of the CMAP of the tibial nerve was significantly decreased at 42 days of HDT compared with the amplitude betbre HDT （6.14± 1.94 vs. 11.87± 3.19 mV, F = 5.02, P = 0.039）. Conclusions： This study demonstrates that the compound muscle action potential amplitudes of nerves are decreased under simulated microgravity in rhesus monkeys. Moreover, rhesus monkeys exposed to HDT might be served as an experimental model for the study of NCS under microgravity.展开更多
Background: Syncope is a relevant health problem in military environments. Reliable diagnosis is challenging. Tilt table testing is an important tool for syncope diagnosis. The aim of this study was to determine wheth...Background: Syncope is a relevant health problem in military environments. Reliable diagnosis is challenging. Tilt table testing is an important tool for syncope diagnosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether signs such as prodromal symptoms, co-morbidity, frequency of syncopal events, body length, body mass index, and electrocardiography(ECG) abnormalities can be used to predict the success of tilt table testing at diagnosing syncope.Methods: Data from 100 patients with histories of syncope or pre-syncope, who were diagnosed using head-up tilt table testing, were retrospectively analyzed in a cross-sectional analysis. The diagnostic procedure was based upon a modified version of the Westminster protocol without any pharmacological provocation. Results: Patients showing pathological reaction patterns during tilt table testing suffered from prodromal symptoms, such as dizziness and sweating, significantly more often. The patients reported more injuries resulting from syncopal events and more previous syncopal events, and the prevalence of co-morbidity was greater among patients presenting negative findings during tilt testing. An asthenic-leptosomal physique was not confirmed as a risk factor for syncopal events as is the case for idiopathic arterial hypotension. However, patients with pathological reaction patterns during tilt table testing were significantly taller. This finding was detected for both females and males. No significant predictors were found in the ECG patterns of patients showing syncope during tilt table testing.Conclusions: Frequency of prior syncope and prodromal symptoms, and increased body length with an otherwise good state of health influence the predictive value of tilt table testing for syncope diagnosis. In particular, if these factors are present, tilt table testing should be considered part of the diagnostic algorithm for soldiers with recurrent syncope.展开更多
基金This work was supported by agrant from the National Tenth Five-year Plan Research Project of China(No.2004BA720A10).
文摘Background Syncope is common in children and adolescents, with 15% estimated to have had at least one syncopal episode by age 18. In recent years, an increasing number of children, especially girls at their school age, have developed unexplained syncope. The mechanism of an unexplained syncope exhibited by children is incompletely studied; the association between different hemodynamic patterns and clinical features is also not clear. The aim of the study was to investigate the hemodynamic patterns of children with unexplained syncope and to examine the clinical relevance. Methods Two hundred and eight children [87 boys, 121 girls, aged 3-19 years, mean （11.66±2.72） years] were selectively recruited from May 2000 to April 2006 when they presented syncope as their main complaint at the Multi-center Network for Childhood Syncope in Beijing, Hunan Province, Hubei Province, and Shanghai of China. All of the patients underwent head-up tilt tests; data were analyzed using SPSS version 10.0 for Windows. Continuous variables were expressed as the mean± standard deviation. Dichotomous variables were compared through a X^2 test. A value of P〈0.05 （two sided） was regarded as statistically significant. Results The age distribution of children with syncope was approximately normal. Head-up tilt tests was positive in 155 children, and the incidence of positive response of the baseline head-up tilt test for diagnosing unexplained syncope was 50.48%. The sensitivity value and diagnostic value of sublingual nitroglycerin head-up tilt test were both 74.52%. The hemodynamic pattern was normal in 53 children. The 155 children, who were positive in head-up tilt tests, showed signs of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome （60, 28.8%）, the vasoinhibitory pattern （72, 34.6%）, the cardioinhibitory pattern （5, 2.4%）, and the mixed pattern （18, 8.7%）. The gender distribution between the two age groups （age 〈 12 years vs age ≥ 12 years） was not different （P〉0.05）. The distribution of hemodynamic
基金supported by a grant from the Wuhan Science and Technology Program of China(No.2014060101010032)
文摘This study was to investigate the changes of autonomic nerve function and hemodynamics in patients with vasovagal syncope(VVS) during head-up tilt-table testing(HUT). HUT was performed in 68 patients with unexplained syncope and 18 healthy subjects served as control group. According to whether bradycardia, hypotension or both took place during the onset of syncope, the patients were divided during the test into three subgroups: vasodepressor syncope(VD), cardioinhibitory syncope(CI) and mixed syncope(MX) subgroups. Heart rate, blood pressure, heart rate variability(HRV), and deceleration capacity(DC) were continuously analyzed during HUT. For all the subjects with positive responses, the normalized low frequency(LFn) and the LF/HF ratio markedly decreased whereas normalized high frequency(HFn) increased when syncope occurred. Syncopal period also caused more significant increase in the power of the DC in positive groups. These changes were more exaggerated compared to controls. All the patients were indicative of a sympathetic surge in the presence of withdrawal vagal activity before syncope and a sympathetic inhibition with a vagal predominance at the syncopal stage by the frequency-domain analysis of HRV. With the measurements of DC, a decreased vagal tone before syncope stage and a vagal activation at the syncopal stage were observed. The vagal tone was higher in subjects showing cardioinhibitory responses at the syncopal stage. DC may provide an alternative method to understand the autonomic profile of VVS patients.
文摘Background： Few studies have focused on peripheral nerve conduction during exposure to microgravity. The -6° head-down tilt （HDT） comprises an experimental model used to simulate the space flight environment. This study investigated nerve conduction characteristics of rhesus monkeys before and alter prolonged exposure to H DT. Methods： Six rhesus monkeys （3-4 years old） were tilted backward 6° from the horizontal. Nerve conduction studies （NCSs） were performed on the median, ulnar, tibial, and fibular motor nerves. Analysis of variance with a randomized block design was conducted to compare the differences in the NCS belbre and 7, 2 l, and 42 days alter the 6° HDT. Results： The proximal amplitude of the CMAP of the median nerve was significantly decreased at 21 and 42 days of HDT compared with the amplitude before HDT （4.38 ± 2.83 vs. 8.40 ±2.66 mV, F = 4.85, P = 0.013 and 3.30± 2.70 vs. 8.40± 2.66 mV, F = 5.93, P = 0.004, respectively）. The distal amplitude of the CMAP of the median nerve was significantly decreased at 7, 21, and 42 days of HDT compared with the amplitude before HDT （7.28 ± 1.27 vs. 10.25 ± 3.40 mV, F= 4.03, P = 0.039; 5.05 ± 2.01 vs. 10.25 ± 3.40 mV, F = 6.25, P = 0.04; and 3.95 ± 2.79 vs. 10.25 ± 3.40 mV, F = 7.35, F=- 0.01; respectively）. The proximal amplitude of the CMAP of the tibial nerve was significantly decreased at 42 days of HDT compared with the amplitude betbre HDT （6.14± 1.94 vs. 11.87± 3.19 mV, F = 5.02, P = 0.039）. Conclusions： This study demonstrates that the compound muscle action potential amplitudes of nerves are decreased under simulated microgravity in rhesus monkeys. Moreover, rhesus monkeys exposed to HDT might be served as an experimental model for the study of NCS under microgravity.
文摘Background: Syncope is a relevant health problem in military environments. Reliable diagnosis is challenging. Tilt table testing is an important tool for syncope diagnosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether signs such as prodromal symptoms, co-morbidity, frequency of syncopal events, body length, body mass index, and electrocardiography(ECG) abnormalities can be used to predict the success of tilt table testing at diagnosing syncope.Methods: Data from 100 patients with histories of syncope or pre-syncope, who were diagnosed using head-up tilt table testing, were retrospectively analyzed in a cross-sectional analysis. The diagnostic procedure was based upon a modified version of the Westminster protocol without any pharmacological provocation. Results: Patients showing pathological reaction patterns during tilt table testing suffered from prodromal symptoms, such as dizziness and sweating, significantly more often. The patients reported more injuries resulting from syncopal events and more previous syncopal events, and the prevalence of co-morbidity was greater among patients presenting negative findings during tilt testing. An asthenic-leptosomal physique was not confirmed as a risk factor for syncopal events as is the case for idiopathic arterial hypotension. However, patients with pathological reaction patterns during tilt table testing were significantly taller. This finding was detected for both females and males. No significant predictors were found in the ECG patterns of patients showing syncope during tilt table testing.Conclusions: Frequency of prior syncope and prodromal symptoms, and increased body length with an otherwise good state of health influence the predictive value of tilt table testing for syncope diagnosis. In particular, if these factors are present, tilt table testing should be considered part of the diagnostic algorithm for soldiers with recurrent syncope.
