Abstract
Collateral sprouting has been evaluated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients on the basis of: 1) Motor Unit action potential (M.U.A.P.) parameters evaluated by simultaneous EMG recordings using concentric needle electrodes and surface electrodes and 2) Motor Action Potential (M.A.P.) activated by graded electrical stimulation of nerve and recorded with the same electrodes. Mean values of duration and amplitude were calculated in 40 normal age-matched controls, 42 ALS patients in the early phase of the disease and in 5 muscles of three ALS patients during the whole course of the disease including the last paralytic phase. Percentage of M.U.A.P.s with linked potentials and highest amplitude was also calculated.
The study confirms previous suggestions on collateral sprouting occurring in the early, middle and advanced phases of the disease and it shows, at variance with some recent claims, that it fails in the latest phase of paralysis.
Sommario
È stato valutato lo sprouting collaterale in pazienti con Sclerosi Laterale Amiotrofica (SLA), studiando: 1) i parametri di unità motoria mediante registrazioni EMGrafiche sia ad ago che di superficie e 2) la risposta M ottenuta con stimolazioni graduate del nervo. I valori medi di durata, ampiezza e la percentuale di potenziali linked sono stati misurati in 40 soggetti normali di controllo, 42 pazienti con SLA nella fase iniziale della malattia e in 5 muscoli di 3 pazienti con SLA seguiti fino allo stadio finale paralitico della malattia. Lo studio conferma che lo sprouting collaterale avviene nelle fasi iniziali, medie e avanzate della malattia, mentre avviene meno nella fase terminale paralitica, a differenza di alcune recenti osservazioni.
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Pinelli, P., Pisano, F., Ceriani, F. et al. EMG evaluation of motor neuron sprouting in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Ital J Neuro Sci 12, 359–367 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02335775
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02335775