title: Quantitative thermal sensory testing in patients with monomelic amyotrophy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Quantitative thermal sensory testing (QST) is a non-invasive method to assess somatic small fibre dysfunction, which is not evaluated with routine nerve conduction studies (NCS). Monomelic amyotrophy (MMA), is a pure motor disorder with no sensory abnormalities on routine NCS, and has not been evaluated using QST.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Present study aimed to evaluate somatic small fibre involvement in MMA patients. Forty patients with MMA with no sensory abnormalities or routine NCS were evaluated using QST for thresholds of cold sensation (CS), warm sensation (WS), cold pain (CP) and warm pain (WP), using method of limits. These were compared with 40 age-matched controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No abnormalities in thresholds for CS, WS, CP and WP were found in MMA group as compared to controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  QST thus failed to demonstrate any abnormality. Hence we conclude that MMA is a pure motor disorder, with no involvement of somatic small sensory fibres (A delta and C).
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Cardiothoracic and Neurosciences Centre, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi-110029. d_joshi73@yahoo.co.in
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bhatia
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Goyal
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shukla
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Padma
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Behari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016472:Motor Neuron Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000502:physiology*; D036421:Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated / Q000502:physiology*; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology; D013697:Thermosensing / Q000502:physiology*