Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2013
Fasciculation potentials and earliest changes in motor unit physiology in ALS.
There is little information on the earliest changes in motor unit (MU) physiology in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and the development of the classical neurophysiological features of ALS over time. ⋯ FPs are a very early marker of ALS and anticipate MUP instability or reinnervation, consistent with a very early phase of increased axonal excitability. Later, widespread neuronal dysfunction causes widespread fibs-sw and loss of MUPs with compensatory reinnervation. Our results confirm the importance of FP morphology analysis in the differential diagnosis of ALS and other disorders, and indicate that benign FPs represent a different phenomenon.