title: Prognostic value of decremental responses to repetitive nerve stimulation in ALS patients.
abstract: Decrement of the thenar compound muscle action potentials (CMAP), after repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) of the median nerve at 3 Hz, was evaluated in patients with ALS before riluzole therapy. CMAP size as well as motor unit number and size estimates were evaluated twice before and after 1 year of riluzole therapy. The correlation between decrement and CMAP size reduction per year was highly significant (r = 0.77), but no relationship could be demonstrated between decrement and other variables. The authors thus propose that decrement after RNS may be used as a predictor of further drop in CMAP size.
authors.affiliation: University Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hôpital du Sart Tilman, Belgium. fc.wang@chu.ulg.ac.be
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: De Pasqua
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gérard
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Delwaide
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009133:Muscular Atrophy / Q000503:physiopathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019782:Riluzole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004561:Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D019782:Riluzole