Physiological estimates of the sizes and the numbers of motor units in soleus muscles of dystrophic mice.
Evidence is presented to support the neurogenic hypothesis for murine dystrophy. Axonal atrophy, decrease in twitch tensions of individual motor units and loss of motor units suggest that "sick" motor units are present in dystrophic mice and that the "sick" motor units were once functional, but had gradually degenerated, possibly due to a neurotrophic deficiency.
D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009132:Muscles / Q000294:innervation* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009137:Muscular Dystrophy, Animal / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009454:Neurofibrils / Q000648:ultrastructure