PAM - Re: Anyone else easily startled?

[Guest guest]

THANKS PAM. WHERE DO YOU COME UP WITH ALL THIS STUFF? SUCH A WEALTH

OF INFORMATION! NOT A CLUE AS TO HOW MY HEARTRATE GOES. I DO KNOW I

HAVE BRADYCARDIA. ALL I KNOW REGARDING WHAT HAPPENS THOUGH IS THAT I

SEEM TO GET MESSED UP - THOUGHT PROCESSES SLOW SIGNIFICANTLY, AND I

SEEM TO GO INTO A BRIEF DAZE. TAKES A WHILE TO GET OUT OF, BUT

EVENTUALLY GET BACK TO NORMAL. NOTICED IT TODAY, WITH A LOUD TRUCK

DRIVING BY A MEETING I WAS IN. THAT WAS ACCOMPANIED BY THAT WEIRD

BODY GOOSEBUMPY TYPE FEELING I GET. ALL QUITE WEIRD... :-)

BUT THEN AGAIN - MANY HAVE SAID FOR YEARS THAT I AM WEIRD :0)

THANKS AGAIN,

PAUL

> Interesting that you bring this up . There is a new research

article

> that mentions a startle reflex and heart rate in MSA patients.

This isn't

> in the same context that you describe but it's interesting none the

less.

>

> Mov Disord 2002 May;17(3):546-9

>

> Effects of a startle on heart rate in patients with multiple system

atrophy.

>

> Valls-Sole J, Veciana M, Leon L, Valldeoriola F.

>

> Unitat d'EMG, Servei de Neurologia, Hospital Clinic, Facultad de

Medicina,

> Universitat de Barcelona, Institut d'Investigacions Biomediques

August Pi i

> Sunyer, Barcelona, Spain.

>

> The patient cooperation usually required for neurophysiological

assessment

> of

> autonomic cardioregulatory function is difficult to obtain from

patients

> with

> bradykinesia. A particularly interesting condition occurs in

multiple system

> atrophy (MSA), which features both bradykinesia and autonomic

dysfunction.

> Another characteristic of patients with MSA is their normal motor

reaction

> to a

> startling stimulus. We used startle as a stimulus for testing

autonomic

> cardioregulatory function in patients with MSA, thus avoiding the

need for

> patient cooperation. In 10 healthy volunteers and 8 MSA patients, we

> recorded

> the electrocardiographic QRS complex with surface electrodes

attached over

> the

> chest and delivered an acoustic startle stimulus after 8 seconds of

baseline

> recording. We calculated the ratio between the pre-stimulus and the

> post-stimulus heart beat intervals (R-R ratio) by dividing the mean

> prestimulus

> R-R interval by the shortest R-R interval obtained within 10 seconds

> poststimulus. Healthy volunteers had a significant shortening of

the R-R

> interval. The peak of the effect occurred after 2 to 5 seconds,

with a mean

> R-R

> ratio of 1.14 (S.D. = 0.09). In contrast, R-R shortening was

markedly

> reduced in

> patients, even though they had a normal motor response. The mean R-

R ratio

> in

> patients was 1.03 (S.D. = 0.03), significantly lower than in healthy

> volunteers

> (P < 0.01). Our results demonstrate an abnormally reduced

modulation of the

> heart beat frequency in patients with MSA, compatible with a

dysfunction on

> pathways responsible for autonomic regulation. The method described

here may

> be

> useful in the assessment of cardioregulatory function in poorly

cooperative

> patients with normal startle responses. Copyright 2002 Movement

Disorder

> Society

>

> PMID: 12112205 [PubMed - in process]