title: Increased motor unit fibre density in the external anal sphincter muscle in ano-rectal incontinence: a single fibre EMG study.
abstract: The motor unit fibre density in the external anal sphincter muscle has been measured in 13 normal subjects aged 18 to 78 years, and in 14 patients with ano-rectal incontinence, aged 17 to 72 years. The mean fibre density in the normal subjects was 1.5 +/- 0.16, and in the incontinent subjects it was 2.17 +/- 0.28 (p less than 0.001). These findings provide support for the suggestion that ano-rectal incontinence commonly has a neurogenic basis.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001003:Anal Canal / Q000294:innervation*; D004576:Electromyography; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005242:Fecal Incontinence / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission