旭 雄士先生のライフワーク、頚部ディストニア（斜頚）に対するハンガー反射の初期臨床試験の結果を日本脳神経外科学会の機関誌、Neurol Med Chir (Tokyo)誌に掲載していただきました。不思議なことにハンガーを頭に装着して一側のこめかみ付近を圧迫すると、頚部が無意識に回旋するハンガー反射を利用して頚部ディストニア（斜頚）を治療する試みです。旭先生はこのハンガー反射を誘発するためのデバイスも開発して市販化を目指すなど、ユニークな研究を地道に続けています。
A Voyage to Depth of Neuroscience Vol. 47
Asahi T, Sato M, Nakamura T, Kon Y, Kajimoto H, Oyama G, Hayashi A, Tanaka K, Nakane S, Takeshima T, Fujii M, Kuroda S.
Pilot Study of a Device to Induce the Hanger Reflex in Patients with Cervical Dystonia.
Neurol Med Chir (Tokyo). 2018 Mar 31. [Epub ahead of print]
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29607887
Abstract
The hanger reflex (HR) is an involuntary head rotation that occurs in response to a clothes hanger encircling the head and compressing the unilateral fronto-temporal area. Here, we developed an elliptical device to induce the HR and examined its utility for the treatment of cervical dystonia (CD). The study included 19 patients with rotational-type CD. The device was applied to each subject’s head for at least 30 min/day for 3 months. Severity scores on part 1 of the Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale were evaluated at baseline and after the 3-month trial. Mean scores without and with the device were significantly different both at baseline (16.6 vs. 14.7, respectively; P < 0.05) and after the trial (14.9 vs. 13.6, respectively; P < 0.05). This preliminary trial suggests that our device can improve abnormal head rotation in patients with CD.
