Assessing hand motor function in chronic immune-mediated neuropathies: a proof-of-concept study using a data glove.

This was a proof-of-concept study in only 25 patients, so it cannot establish how the glove performs in larger or different populations. There was no healthy control group, so glove scores are not anchored to normal hand movement. Patients were on ongoing intravenous immunoglobulin and were clinically stable; the study did not show that glove scores change with disease activity or treatment adjustment. Treatment dose or interval was changed for 18 patients, but the study did not test whether glove scores tracked those changes. Some analyses had fewer patients because of a missed final visit, incomplete finger spread, protocol deviation, or a missing median nerve study. A single glove size was used, and sensor alignment may have varied, although fit remained consistent for each patient over time. Finger spread may not be valid for patients with very severe hand impairment, and similar issues may apply to fist opening and thumb opposition. The group had more male than female patients, which may have introduced minor hand-size-related variation.

The funding section names Universitätsklinikum RWTH Aachen. The supplied text gives no further conflict-of-interest statement.

Do not conclude that the glove has been shown to guide treatment decisions. It was tested in 25 clinically stable patients on ongoing immunoglobulin therapy, had no healthy control group, and did not demonstrate that glove scores change with meaningful disease activity or treatment changes.