The hot bath test among Malaysian multiple sclerosis patients
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-1994
Abstract
This is a study of 13 Malaysian patients with clinically definite Multiple sclerosis (MS) subjected to a hot bath test with VEPs, BAEPs, median nerve SSEPs before and after heating. Five patients (38%) developed neurological changes with the rise in body temperature. There was an average of 0.46 new sign per patient. Four patients had motor disturbances attributed mainly to aggravation of spinal cord dysfunction. Two patients had additional visual deterioration, one patient has associated VEP change. This study shows that though Uhthoff's phenomenon has not been noted in the reports of Asian MS patients, when subjected to rigorous testing, Asian MS patients also show sensitivity to body temperature change. However, the percentage of positivity of the hot bath test is much lower than that reported for Caucasians. Thus this study shows further differences between Asian and Caucasian MS patients.
Keywords
Motor Skills, Multiple Sclerosis/diagnosis, Multiple Sclerosis/epidemiology
Divisions
fac_med
Publication Title
Medical Journal of Malaysia
Volume
49
Issue
1
Publisher
Malaysian Medical Association
Additional Information
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur