title: Effects of chronic sepsis on rat motor units: experimental study of critical illness polyneuromyopathy.
abstract: Critical illness polyneuromyopathy (CIP) leads to major muscle weakness correlated with peripheral nerve and/or muscle alterations. Because sepsis seems to be the main factor, we used an experimental model of chronic sepsis in rats to study the localization of the first alterations on isolated motor units of soleus muscle. Seven days of chronic sepsis leads to a decrease in muscle force and an increase in muscle fatigability. Muscle twitch contraction time is also slower and all the motor units exhibit a slow profile in septic rats. Motor axon conduction velocity remains normal. We observed a significant increase in the latency between nerve and muscle action potentials but no modifications in the electromechanical delay. The first action of sepsis on motor units seems to be a delayed trigger of muscle action potential along with a muscle weakness but without nerve conduction impairment.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiologie, Faculté de Médecine de Brest, CS 93837, 29238 BREST Cedex 3, France.
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rannou
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Pennec
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rossignol
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morel
authors.forename: Germaine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dorange
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arvieux
authors.forename: Maxime
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gioux
authors.forename: Marie-Agnès
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Giroux-Metges
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D004576:Electromyography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D018763:Muscle Fatigue / Q000502:physiology; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology*; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D018805:Sepsis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*