title: Longitudinal changes of nerve conduction velocity, distal motor latency, compound motor action potential duration, and skin temperature during prolonged exposure to cold in a climate chamber.
abstract: Changes of nerve conduction velocity (NCV), distal motor latency (DML), compound motor action potential (CMAP) duration, and skin temperature with regard to cold have been investigated by use of ice packs or cold water baths, but not after cooling of environmental temperature which has higher ecological validity. The aim of this study was to investigate these parameters during cooled room temperature. NCV, DML, and CMAP duration of the common fibular nerve, and skin temperature were measured in 20 healthy young females during exposure to 15°C room temperature, coming from 25°C room. We found that NCV decreased and DML increased linearly during 45 min observation time, in contrast to CMAP duration and skin temperature which changes followed an exponential curve. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating changes of these parameters during exposure to environmental cold. The results may pilot some new hypotheses and studies on physiological and pathological changes of the peripheral nervous system and skin to environmental cold, e.g., in elderly with peripheral neuropathies.
authors.affiliation: Center of Neurology, Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. walter.maetzler@uni-tuebingen.de
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Maetzler
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klenk
authors.forename: Clemens
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zscheile
authors.forename: Kai-Steffen
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Gabor
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lindemann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002980:Climate; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D004576:Electromyography; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012881:Skin Temperature / Q000502:physiology*; D013696:Temperature; D055815:Young Adult