Following disease progression in motor neuron disorders with 3 MUNE methods.

Following disease progression in motor neuron disorders with 3 MUNE methods.

Muscle Nerve. 2018 Jul 19;:

Authors: Jacobsen AB, Bostock H, Tankisi H

Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to evaluate a recently developed motor unit number estimation (MUNE) method, MScanFit MUNE (MScan), as a measure of disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) compared to compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude and two traditional MUNE methods.
METHODS: ALS patients were evaluated clinically by ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R). MScan, multiple point stimulation MUNE (MPS) and motor unit number index (MUNIX) were performed in the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscle at baseline (27 patients), 4 months (23 patients) and 8 months (16 patients).
RESULTS: Of the 5 measures, MScan registered the largest decline (8.7% per month) compared with MPS (3.4%), MUNIX (4.8%), CMAP amplitude (2.0%) and ALSFRS-R (1.9%). Only MScan and ALSFRS-R registered significant decrements over 4 and 8 months.
DISCUSSION: MScan may be a sensitive objective tool for quantifying motor unit loss in ALS. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID: 30025164 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]