title: F tacheodispersion: quantitative analysis of motor fiber conduction velocities in patients with polyneuropathy.
abstract: The distribution of motor fiber conduction velocities (FCVs) of the ulnar and peroneal nerves in patients with polyneuropathy was estimated using F tacheodispersion, a technique based on F wave latencies. Twenty-three ulnar and 23 peroneal nerves were studied. Three groups of nerves were identified according to conventional, M response, and F wave measurements: those with all parameters normal (group 1), those with abnormal F wave parameters only (group 2), and those with all parameters abnormal (group 3). Application of F tacheodispersion to nerves in group 1 revealed a shift of the distribution of FCVs toward the lower normal values in 6 of 7 nerves. In group 2, a significant proportion of FCVs were below the lower normal limits despite normal maximum conduction velocity estimated by the M response. In group 3, all nerve fibers were abnormally slow. The results indicate that application of F tacheodispersion in clinical practice will increase sensitivity of nerve conduction studies and enable quantitative estimation of conduction in a motor nerve fiber population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology and Epilepsy, St. Thomas' Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chroni
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Panayiotopoulos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009132:Muscles / Q000294:innervation*; D009431:Neural Conduction; D009468:Neuromuscular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010543:Peroneal Nerve / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011115:Polyneuropathies / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012016:Reference Values; D014459:Ulnar Nerve / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology*