Cortical Excitability in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Clue to Pathogenesis

Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences - Tập 20 Số 1 - Trang 11-16 - 1993
Andrew Eisen1, Bhanu Pant1, Heather Stewart1
1Neuromuscular Diseases Unit, The Vancouver General Hospital and The University of BritishColumbia, Vancouver

Tóm tắt

ABSTRACT:

Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from selected non-wasted, non-denervated hand muscles in 40 patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) with both upper and lower motor neuron signs. In most the compound muscle action potential (CMAP) of the target muscle was normal. Compared to the control group, cortical threshold in ALS varied considerably and there was a significant (r2= 0.702) inverse, exponential, correlation between cortical threshold and MEP/CMAP ratio. There was a linear correlation between threshold and disease duration (r2= 0.66) so that early in the disease threshold was normal and later the motor cortex could not be stimulated. It is suggested that early in ALS normal threshold reflects glutamate-induced hyper-excitability of the corticomotoneuron. The findings lend support to the hypothesis that ALS is primarily a disease of the corticomotoneuron.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

10.1152/jn.1985.53.3.786

10.1016/0168-5597(91)90105-7

10.1016/0006-8993(91)90701-V

Wiesendanger, 1988, Non-Invasive Stimulation of Brain and Spinal Cord: Fundamentals and Clinical Applications, 23

Eisen, 1992, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): a phylogenetic disease of the corticomotoneuron? Muscle Nerve, 15, 219

10.1016/0168-5597(91)90028-V

10.1093/brain/110.5.1191

10.1098/rspb.1987.0039

Charcot, 1889, Clinical Lectures on Diseases of the Nervous System, III, 164

Phillips, 1977, Corticospinal Motoneurons

10.1212/WNL.40.2.309

10.1002/mus.880131102

10.1212/WNL.33.11.1513

10.1016/0168-5597(91)90009-M

Keimahan, 1991, Changes in sizes of cortical and lower motor neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Brain, 114, 843, 10.1093/brain/114.2.843

10.1113/jphysiol.1990.sp018104

10.1113/jphysiol.1989.sp017626

10.1016/0165-0173(85)90005-0

10.1097/00006123-198701000-00022

10.1016/0168-5597(91)90029-W

Humphrey, 1986, Representation of movements and muscles within the primate precentral motor cortex: historical and current perspectives, Fed Proc, 45, 2687

10.1016/0168-5597(91)90027-U

Rowland, 1991, Advances in Neurology, 56, 3

10.1016/0168-5597(89)90032-4

10.1002/mus.880110203

Pestronk, 1991, Invited review: motor neuronopathies, motor neuron disorders, and antiglycolipid antibodies, Muscle Nerve, 14, 927, 10.1002/mus.880141002

10.1016/S0733-8619(18)31017-X

10.1002/ana.410280513

10.1016/0168-5597(92)90094-R

10.1002/ana.410220417

10.1136/jnnp.50.2.159

10.1212/WNL.40.2.332

Eisen, 1992, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease: phylogenetic disorders of the human neocortex sharing many characteristics, Can J Neurol Sci, 19, 117, 10.1017/S0317167100041482

10.1002/mus.880130211

Carpenter, 1988, Dendritic attrition precedes motor neuron death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Neurology, 38, 252

10.1056/NEJM199205283262204

10.1002/ana.410280103

10.1093/brain/110.5.1173

Sillevis, 1989, Animal models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy, J Neurol Sci, 91, 231, 10.1016/0022-510X(89)90056-7

10.1136/jnnp.54.11.984

10.1016/0304-3940(86)90565-3