Motor unit number index (MUNIX): principle, method, and findings in healthy subjects and in patients with motor neuron disease. Muscle Nerve 2010 Nov;42(5):798-807
Date
10/27/2010Pubmed ID
20976783DOI
10.1002/mus.21824Scopus ID
2-s2.0-78149323771 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 167 CitationsAbstract
The motor unit number index (MUNIX) is a method for assessment of number and size (MUSIX) of motor units (MUs) using the compound muscle action potential (CMAP) and surface electromyographic interference pattern (SIP). This method was used to study the hypothenar muscle in 34 healthy subjects to define normal range, and to study reproducibility. Four healthy subjects and 13 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) were studied serially over a 1-year period. In healthy subjects, MUNIX showed good reproducibility. In serial studies, healthy subjects showed no change in the CMAP amplitude and MUNIX. ALS patients with minimal change in CMAP amplitude had a significant drop in MUNIX and increase in MUSIX, indicating MU loss compensated by reinnervation. When the CMAP changed significantly (>30%) in 1 year, the CMAP and MUNIX decreased in parallel. MUNIX would be useful to study MU loss in degenerative diseases of motor neurons. Muscle Nerve 42: 798-807, 2010.
Author List
Nandedkar SD, Barkhaus PE, Stålberg EVAuthor
Paul E. Barkhaus MD Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAged
Algorithms
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Cohort Studies
Electrodiagnosis
Electromyography
Electrophysiology
Female
Humans
Isometric Contraction
Male
Middle Aged
Models, Statistical
Motor Neuron Disease
Motor Neurons
Muscle Fibers, Skeletal
Muscle, Skeletal
Regression Analysis
Reproducibility of Results
