title: Contractile speed and fatigue of adductor pollicis muscle in multiple sclerosis.
abstract: The purpose of the study was to investigate differences in contractile speed, force, and fatigability of the adductor pollicis muscle between 12 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 8 sedentary control subjects matched for age and gender. There were no differences between the patients with MS and control subjects with respect to the percentage of maximal muscle force that could be recruited during voluntary effort (95.5 +/- 3.9% and 98.2 +/- 2.0%, respectively, P = 0.10), the stimulation frequency/force and force/velocity relationships, the rates of force development and relaxation, fatigue resistance, and the recovery rate of adductor pollicis muscle. However, previous results from the same group of MS patients showed that quadriceps femoris muscle force and resistance to fatigue were reduced. Therefore, our data support the clinical experience that, in patients with MS, lower limb muscle function is more or earlier affected than upper limb muscle function.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Fundamental and Clinical Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije University, van der Boechorststraat 9, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands. c_j_de_ruiter@fbw.vu.nl
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: de Ruiter
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Jongen
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: van der Woude
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Haan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007537:Isometric Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018763:Muscle Fatigue / Q000502:physiology*; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology; D009126:Muscle Relaxation / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D013933:Thumb / Q000502:physiology