STRENGTHENING the global effort to CURE neuromuscular disease

The 2024 Technologist Best Abstract Award has been presented to Isván Alvarez Herrera, CNCT, for his abstract titled, “Cutaneous Silent Period in a Patient With Warm Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.” 

Mr. Alvarez Herrera says winning this award was a “joyful surprise.” Trained in Cuba, currently working at the Methodist Rehab Center with Dr. Art Leis, in Mississippi, he says, “I owe the award to this confluence, and I am thankful for it.” Mr. Alvarez Herrera has always been interested in the clinical and research applications of cutaneous silent periods (CSPs), so this research project was a natural extension of that interest. His abstract presents a patient with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a disorder in which pathological studies have shown local degeneration of small nerve fibers, proving that the electrical stimulation of A-delta (Aδ) fibers in the affected region can still elicit a response, the CSP. He says, “though our study is just one case, it suggests there could be differences between the CSP of the affected region and the unaffected ones.” He believes this could be a foundation for larger sample studies in the search for a bioelectrical marker, which may help to objectivize the diagnosis of CRPS that currently relies on clinical criteria alone. 

Mr. Alvarez Herrera's abstract will be presented at the 2024 AANEM Annual Meeting in Savannah, Georgia, Oct. 15-18 among all abstracts, including the Best Abstract Award, Best Abstract Runner-Up Award, Pediatric Research Award, Residency and Fellowship Member Award, Medical Student Award, and President's Research Award abstracts. 

Having participated in many AANEM meetings over the last 10 years, Mr. Alvarez Herrera looks forward to the upcoming AANEM Annual Meeting as an abstract award winner. “I enjoy the learning opportunities it provides and the exchanges with colleagues in the field. No more thorough and ecumenical gathering for NM and EDX practitioners exist,” he says. This year, he looks forward to learning as much as possible about US applications for NM electrodiagnosis.