Article

AIM: To investigate tactile perception and manual dexterity, with or without
visual feedback, in males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). METHOD: Forty
males with DMD (mean age 9y 8mo, SD 2y 3mo; range 5-14y), recruited from the
teaching hospital of the School of Medicine of the University of Sao Paulo, with
disease severity graded as '1'
to '6' on the Vignos Scale and '1'
on Brooke's
Scale, and 49 healthy males (mean age 8y 2mo; range 5-11y; SD 1y 11mo), recruited
from a local education center, participated in the study. We assessed tactile
perception using two-point discrimination and stereognosis tests, and manual
dexterity using the Pick-Up test with the eyes either open or closed. Analysis of
variance was used to compare groups; a p value of less than 0.05 was considered
statistically significant. RESULTS: Males with DMD exhibited no impairment in
tactile perception, as measured by the two-point discrimination test and the
number of objects correctly named in the stereognosis test. Manipulation during
stereognosis was statistically slower with both hands (p<0.001), and manual
dexterity was much worse in males with DMD when there was no visual feedback
(p<0.001). INTERPRETATION: Males with DMD exhibited disturbances in manipulation
during stereognosis and dexterity tests. Hand control was highly dependent on
visual information rather than on tactile perception. Motor dysfunction in males
with DMD, therefore, might be related to altered neural control.
CI - (c) 2014 Mac Keith Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS