Electro-oculographic measures in patients with chronic whiplash and healthy subjects: a comparative study

Background: Despite their high incidence, costs, and long lasting disability, whiplash associated disorders (WAD) lack an identifiable objective pathology that explains their acute or chronic symptoms. Objective: In view of previous suggestions of a possible effect of neck torsion on several electro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry neurosurgery and psychiatry, 2004-11, Vol.75 (11), p.1642-1644
Main Authors: Prushansky, T, Dvir, Z, Pevzner, E, Gordon, C R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Child clinical studies
chronic
Chronic Disease
coefficient of variation
Complaints
Developmental disorders
Diagnosis, Differential
electro-oculography
Electrooculography
EOG
Eye movements
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Functional Laterality - physiology
Head Movements - physiology
Humans
Infantile autism
left
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Movement disorders
Multiple sclerosis and variants. Guillain barré syndrome and other inflammatory polyneuropathies. Leukoencephalitis
Neck
Neurology
pain
Predictive Value of Tests
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Pursuit, Smooth - physiology
Reaction Time - physiology
Reference Values
right
Saccades - physiology
Short Report
smooth pursuit neck torsion
smooth pursuit velocity gain
SPNT
SPVG
Velocity
WAD
whiplash
whiplash associated disorders
Whiplash Injuries - diagnosis
Whiplash Injuries - physiopathology
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Summary:Background: Despite their high incidence, costs, and long lasting disability, whiplash associated disorders (WAD) lack an identifiable objective pathology that explains their acute or chronic symptoms. Objective: In view of previous suggestions of a possible effect of neck torsion on several electro-oculography (EOG) parameters, the main objective of this study was to examine their applicability in differentiating patients from uninvolved subjects. Methods: Smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements were assessed in 26 patients with chronic WAD and 23 healthy subjects. All tests were executed in three neck positions: neutral and rotations to left and right. Results: Neck torsion did not influence eye movement performance of either the WAD or healthy groups. However, compared with the healthy group, patients with WAD had significantly lower smooth pursuit velocity gain (SPVG) (p  =  0.01) and prolonged saccadic latency (p  =  0.001), irrespective of neck position. Conclusions: Despite scattered differences that reached significance, the electro-oculographic measures used in this study do not seem to offer a clinically relevant method for differentiating between patients with WAD and normal subjects.
ISSN:0022-3050
1468-330X
DOI:10.1136/jnnp.2003.031278