Both C7PL and GL have been used to assess spinal balance. However, due to extensive radiation exposure, the measurement repeatability for both C7PL and GL has never been systematically determined.

Methods. Thirty asymptomatic adult volunteers were enrolled in this study. Two optical markers were attached to the skin overlying the spinous processes of C7 and S1. Volunteers were instructed to stand on a force

plate with their arms in 3 different positions, clavicle, supported, and neutral, for posteroanterior (PA), and lateral views. Digital Wnt inhibitor photos were taken for 12 times for each position. The GL position was displayed on a computer in real time. The distance from the C7 marker to S1 marker (C7-S1) and the distance from the GL to the S1 marker (GL-S1) were measured in both PA and lateral views. The repeatability on a single subject was defined as the standard deviation of the 12 repeated measurements for each standing position.

Results. In the PA view, the repeatability of both C7PL and GL was 3 to 4 mm in all 3 standing positions see more (all P > 0.05). In the lateral view, the repeatability of C7PL increased from 6 to 8 mm whereas GL remained low at 3 to 4 mm. The GL repeatability was significantly

better than that of C7PL in all 3 lateral positions (all P < 0.05). The standing position did not significantly affect repeatability for both C7PL and GL. C7PL had approximately 1-cm posterior shift in the supported position and 2-cm posterior Selleckchem MK 2206 shift in the clavicle position. The effect of various radiographic positions was less than 1 cm for all 3 standing positions in the GL measurement.

Conclusion. The GL measurement was highly reproducible in both PA and lateral views. The repeatability was similar between C7PL and GL despite the standing positions in the PA view. The repeatability of GL was better

than that of C7PL in all 3 standing positions in the lateral view. The effect of standing positions was much less in GL than in C7PL.”
“Haloperidol has long been used to manage agitation in dementia, but it is associated with increased side effects. We report the first case of a patient with severe Alzheimer’s disease who presented with non-epileptic myoclonus just after haloperidol treatment was initiated.”
“Life-threatening cardiomyopathy is associated with certain systemic myopathies and usually presents as an end-stage progression of the disease. However, cardiac symptoms can sometimes precede muscle weakness. The authors reviewed medical records from 2003 to 2008 on patients attending their neuromuscular clinic and identified patients who initially presented with an end-stage cardiomyopathy and were later diagnosed with a specific muscle disease through muscle biopsy. They report 5 cases of children who initially presented with cardiomyopathies without neuromuscular symptoms. The cardiac symptoms were so severe that 4 of them required cardiac transplantation and 1 died prior to transplantation.