Faculty Collaboration Database

Tracking motor neuron loss in a set of six muscles in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using the Motor Unit Number Index (MUNIX): a 15-month longitudinal multicentre trial. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2015 Nov;86(11):1172-9

Date

05/04/2015

Pubmed ID

25935892

DOI

10.1136/jnnp-2015-310509

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-84942692366 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   94 Citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Motor Unit Number Index (MUNIX) is a novel neurophysiological measure that provides an index of the number of functional lower motor neurons in a given muscle. So far its performance across centres in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has not been investigated.

OBJECTIVE: To perform longitudinal MUNIX recordings in a set of muscles in a multicentre setting in order to evaluate its value as a marker of disease progression.

METHODS: Three centres applied MUNIX in 51 ALS patients over 15 months. Six different muscles (abductor pollicis brevis, abductor digiti minimi, biceps brachii, tibialis anterior, extensor dig. brevis, abductor hallucis) were measured every 3 months on the less affected side. The decline between MUNIX and ALSFRS-R was compared.

RESULTS: 31 participants reached month 12. For all participants, ALSFRS-R declined at a rate of 2.3%/month. Using the total score of all muscles, MUNIX declined significantly faster by 3.2%/month (p ≤ 0.02). MUNIX in individual muscles declined between 2.4% and 4.2%, which differed from ASLFRS-R decline starting from month 3 (p ≤ 0.05 to 0.002). Subgroups with bulbar, lower and upper limb onset showed different decline rates of ALSFRS-R between 1.9% and 2.8%/month, while MUNIX total scores showed similar decline rates over all subgroups. Mean intraclass correlation coefficient for MUNIX intra-rater reliability was 0.89 and for inter-rater reliability 0.80.

CONCLUSION: MUNIX is a reliable electrophysiological biomarker to track lower motor neuron loss in ALS.

Author List

Neuwirth C, Barkhaus PE, Burkhardt C, Castro J, Czell D, de Carvalho M, Nandedkar S, Stålberg E, Weber M

Author

Paul E. Barkhaus MD Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Aged
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Cohort Studies
Disease Progression
Electromyography
Female
Functional Laterality
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Middle Aged
Motor Neurons
Muscle, Skeletal
Observer Variation
Reproducibility of Results
Treatment Outcome