The effect of hemiplegia on bone mass and soft tissue body composition

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Abstract
The content of bone mineral (BMC), lean tissue, and fat tissue were measured by single and dual photon absorptiometry in both the paretic and the non-paretic limbs of 15 patients, hemiplegic due to cerebrovascular accident 23-38 weeks earlier. Compared with the non-paretic arm, the paretic arm had approximately 10% lower (P < 0.01) BMC. This difference was largest at the measuring site with the hightest ratio of trabecular to compact bone. The paretic leg had a 4% (P < 0.001) lower BMC than the non-paretic leg. For both the arms and the legs, the lean content was lower (P < 0.05) and the fat content higher (P < 0.01) in the paretic than in the non-paretic. This was relatively more pronounced in the arms than in the legs. We conclude that partial immobilization, owing to parasis after a cerebrovascular accident, results in characteristic changes in the affected limbs, with a marked decrease in the content of bone and lean tissue and a pronounced increase in fatty tissue.

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