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Biomedical subjects

D B Sanders

Publications and source records attributed to D B Sanders.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Recording and physical characteristics of disposable concentric needle EMG electrodes.

There is currently considerable interest in using disposable concentric needle (CN) electrodes for clinical electromyography (EMG). To determine how these electrodes compare with reusable CN electrodes, we have compared signals recorded by these two electrode types from the same muscle in normal subjects. We also made similar recordings with two groups of reusable electrodes. There was no difference in the features of motor unit action potentials (MUAPs) recorded by the two groups of reusable electrodes. Disposable electrodes performed satisfactorily in conventional EMG examination. However, compared to reusable electrodes, the disposable electrodes recorded MUAPs with smaller amplitude and area but with the same area:amplitude ratio and MUAP duration. The physical and electrical properties of the CNE groups were also investigated. Disposable electrodes had lower electrical resistance and greater capacitance than reusable electrodes when measurements were made in saline. Photomicrographs showed that the disposable electrodes had smaller recording surfaces and that the central wire was frequently eccentric in the cannula. The differences in electrical recording characteristics could be due to differences in the size of the recording surface, eccentric placement of the central wire in the cannula or differences in the metal used for the central wire. We conclude that electrical and physical testing may not predict the recording characteristics of needle electrodes. Electrophysiologic testing is necessary to determine how EMG signals recorded by new types of electrodes compare with those recorded by currently used electrodes.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1990

Measurement of the amplitude of the EMG envelope.

When the force of muscle contraction is increased, the amplitude of the EMG envelope (ENAMP) increases. The ENAMP is usually assessed subjectively and its value in EMG analysis has been established. In this article we describe a method to make automatic measurements of the ENAMP. This method was tested on recordings of the EMG interference pattern (IP) from the biceps muscle of normal subjects. Normal values of this feature in the biceps muscle are described. There was a good concordance between the ENAMP measurements made by subjective assessment and by automatic analysis and the ENAMP values correlated strongly with a previously described feature of the IP called the upper centile amplitude. We infer that ENAMP is a robust feature of the IP that reflects the amplitude of the largest MUAP in the IP.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1989

Myasthenic U-shaped decrement in multifocal cervical radiculopathy.

A middle-aged man with lymphomatous meningitis developed acute cervical radiculopathy. Repetitive stimulation of an affected nerve revealed a "U-Shaped" decrement. The decrement was absent 10 days later. We hypothesize that the decrement was secondary to simultaneous denervation of many motor units and disappeared as denervation became complete in those motor units.

Electromyography↗
PubMed1989

Evaluation of an automatic method of measuring features of motor unit action potentials.

This study was performed to evaluate an automatic method of motor unit action potential (MUAP) analysis developed in our laboratory. MUAPs were recorded from the biceps brachii muscle of 68 normal subjects and 122 patients with nerve or muscle disease. The values of mean MUAP durations from normal subjects obtained by automatic analysis were similar to those reported in the literature. However, the normal range of MUAP amplitude and the incidence of polyphasic MUAPs were much higher. Normal ranges of mean MUAP area, area/amplitude ratio, and the number of turns were also defined. Automatic analysis demonstrated an abnormality of at least one MUAP feature in 70% of patients. There was concordance between automated analysis and visual assessment of MUAPs in 76% of patients with neuropathy but in only 50% of patients with myopathy. The relationships between different MUAP features seen in neuropathy and myopathy are explained in physiologic terms.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1989

The effect of cholinesterase inhibitors of SFEMG in myasthenia gravis.

We report four patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) in whom single-fiber electromyography (SFEMG) jitter measurements were normal in some muslces while they were taking pyridostigmine and became abnormal 2-14 days after the medication was discontinued. When the abnormality of neuromuscular transmission in MG is mild, cholinesterase inhibitors may mask the findings of increased jitter on SFEMG.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1989

Simulation of myopathic motor unit action potentials.

Normal motor units (MUs) were simulated and their architecture altered to simulate the changes produced by myopathy. The concentric needle electromyographic recordings of motor unit action potentials (MUAPs) from the MUs were then also simulated. These simulated MUAPs showed features that are seen in myopathy: normal amplitude and slightly reduced area, MUAPs with simple waveform and reduced duration, and complex MUAPs with normal or increased duration. The MUAP waveforms were complex because of increased variability of fiber diameter and not because of loss of muscle fibers. The MUAP duration increased when the variability of fiber diameter increased. Finally, MUAPs similar to those seen in neurogenic diseases were produced from MUs in which the only abnormality was increased variability of fiber diameter.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1989

Principal component analysis of the features of concentric needle EMG motor unit action potentials.

Motor unit action potentials (MUAPs) were recorded from the biceps muscle of normal subjects and of patients with nerve or muscle diseases. Principal component analysis of the MUAP amplitude, area, area/amplitude ratio, duration, and the number of turns and phases produced three components that among them contained 90% of the variance of the data set. Thus the dimensionality of data was reduced from six to three. The first component reflected changes in the size of the MU, whereas the second reflected variations in the arrival time at the recording electrode of the action potentials of muscle fibers in the motor unit. The third factor reflected local loss of muscle fibers within the MU territory. Patterns of variations in the three components were different in patients with neuropathy and myopathy.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1989

Ephaptic transmission in hemifacial spasm: a single-fiber EMG study.

In two patients with hemifacial spasm (HFS), single-fiber EMG recordings in facial muscles demonstrated low jitter in the late responses produced by stimulation of peripheral branches to other facial muscles. Surgical decompression of the facial nerve in one patient was followed by clinical improvement and disappearance of the abnormal late responses. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that there is ephaptic transmission among peripheral branches of the facial nerve at the site of compression in HFS.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1988

Simulation of concentric needle EMG motor unit action potentials.

Computer simulations of motor unit action potentials (MUAPs) as measured by a concentric needle (CN) electromyography (EMG) electrode in normal motor units (MUs) indicated that the MUAP amplitude is determined mainly by the proximity of the electrode to the closest muscle fiber. The area and duration of the simulated MUAPs were affected by all muscle fibers in front of the active recording surface but mainly by those that were less than 2 and 2.5 mm, respectively, from the active recording surface. The MUAP area was also affected by the proximity of the electrode to the closest muscle fiber. The number of phases of the simulated MUAPs increased when the dispersion of the arrival times of individual muscle fiber APs at the electrode was increased. Increased temporal dispersion of APs decreased the MUAP amplitude and area slightly but did not affect the MUAP duration. It is inferred that different features of the CN MUAP are determined by the distribution of muscle fibers within different portions of the MU territory and thus provide complementary information about the MU architecture.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1988

EMG of reinnervated motor units: a simulation study.

Using computer simulation techniques, reinnervation of motor units (MUs) was studied by increasing the number of muscle fibers in the MU without changing the MU territory. The fiber density (FD) measured by single fiber EMG electrodes, the amplitude, area and number of turns of concentric needle (CN) EMG motor unit action potentials (MUAPs) and the amplitude of macro EMG MUAPs were most affected by partial reinnervation changes. The values of these features increased during simulated advanced reinnervation, as did the number of CNEMG MUAPs that had increased numbers of phases or turns and the mean CNEMG MUAP duration. The increase in macro EMG MUAP amplitude, FD and CNEMG MUAP area were proportional to the increase in the number of muscle fibers in the MU. When loss of muscle fibers due to so-called MU fractionation was simulated, values of all EMG features fell, but were still increased compared to normal. Two patterns of change in SFEMG and macro EMG values were identified that may distinguish between recordings made from reinnervated low force threshold MUs and those from higher force threshold MUs.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1988

Automatic analysis of the electromyographic interference pattern using the turns: amplitude ratio.

This study was performed to compare different techniques of analyzing the electromyographic interference pattern (IP). Recordings were made from the biceps muscle with a concentric needle electrode at different sites and at different constant levels of voluntary contraction. The number of turns per second (NT), the mean amplitude change between successive turns (MA) and NT:MA ratio were determined for epochs of 1 sec duration. Normal limits of individual epoch NT:MA ratios and the mean value of NT:MA ratio obtained from all epochs in each muscle were determined. The mean NT:MA ratio was less in normal males than in females. IP recordings were made in the biceps muscle of 69 patients with neuropathy and 54 patients with myopathy, though this muscle was not necessarily affected by the disease in all patients. The IP was abnormal by visual inspection in 82% of patients compared to 61% based on NT:MA ratio and 74% using a technique that automatically quantitates some features of the IP that are assessed subjectively by an electromyographer. All techniques demonstrated IP abnormalities in more than 80% of the muscles that were moderately to severely weak. Though measuring the NT:MA ratio without monitoring the force of contraction is not as sensitive as other IP analysis techniques, it may be useful in quantitating abnormalities when other techniques are not available.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Analysis of amplitude and area of concentric needle EMG motor unit action potentials.

Computer simulations indicate that measurements of the area of motor unit action potentials (MUAPs) recorded with a concentric needle electrode could be useful in differentiating between neuropathy and myopathy. However, MUAP area varies markedly when the position of the recording electrode is changed only slightly within the motor unit territory, mainly because of the changes in the MUAP amplitude produced by only slight electrode movements. The ratio of MUAP area to amplitude is much less affected by changes in electrode position and measures the 'thickness' of the MUAP wave form. We found that the MUAP area:amplitude ratio was reduced in myopathy even when the MUAP amplitude was normal or increased. In patients with neuropathy, the MUAP amplitude and area both tend to be increased while their ratio is normal or increased. The diagnostic yield obtained from MUAP area, amplitude and their ratio in combination was similar to that obtained using measurements of MUAP duration. Unlike the MUAP duration, the MUAP area, amplitude and area:amplitude ratio are robust features of the MUAP in that they are less sensitive to the signal-to-noise ratio and inter-operator differences in signal selection.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1988

Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome: the lack of short-term in vitro effects of serum factors on neuromuscular transmission.

Serum was obtained from 7 patients with the Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LES), 3 patients with small-cell carcinoma of the lung (SCCL), and 9 healthy control subjects. Serum samples were applied in vitro to the rat neuromuscular junction (for 1-3 h for control LES sera; 4 h for SCCL sera), following which the pre- and postjunctional physiological effects of serum factors were studied in the presence of 10 mM [Mg2+]o. All sera produced a marked reduction in the frequency of spontaneous miniature end-plate potentials (MEPPs), while causing slight to moderate changes in MEPP amplitude. There were no consistent changes in the quantum content of the impulse-evoked end-plate potentials, though the serum from one LES patient significantly and reversibly inhibited the evoked quantal release. No significant effect was found when a human intercostal muscle was exposed to serum from another LES patient for 2 h. Therefore, when applied in vitro on a short-term basis, the putative LES autoantibodies do not consistently react with voltage-dependent calcium channels in the motor nerve terminal and thus fail to reproduce the physiologic abnormality of the syndrome. We suggest that the pathogenic IgG molecules may require more than 3h of incubation in order to gain access to, and inhibit the function of, the prejunctional Ca2+ channels.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1987

A new dietary therapy for adrenoleukodystrophy: biochemical and preliminary clinical results in 36 patients.

A new dietary regimen has been administered for periods ranging from 60 days to 1 1/2 years in 34 patients with various forms of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), as well as in 1 patient with neonatal ALD and 1 patient with infantile Refsum's disease. The diet combines the administration of a glyceryl trioleate oil (GTO) with the dietary restriction of very-long-chain fatty acids (VLFA), particularly hexacosanoic acid (C26:0). Reductions in the levels of plasma C26:0 and other VLFA were achieved in 25 of the 36 patients. Fifteen of these 25 patients were treated for more than 100 days. The mean reduction of the plasma C26:0 level was 53% (range, 22 to 73%) in these 15 patients. While the focus of the study was on biochemical variables, comparison of pre- and post-diet studies of peripheral nerve function showed improvement in 1 patient with adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) and 1 heterozygote. In contrast, 2 patients with ALD onset in childhood developed new neurological deficits while on therapy. We conclude that it is possible to lower plasma VLFA levels in ALD patients. A clinical trial is indicated to test whether this approach can alter the neurological progression in patients with AMN or in symptomatic heterozygotes, and to determine whether it can prevent the onset of neurological disability in asymptomatic persons who have the biochemical defect of ALD.

Adrenoleukodystrophy↗
PubMed1987

Single fiber electromyography in chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia.

We have reviewed the electromyographic (EMG) studies of 17 patients with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO). In 13 of 17 patients, conventional concentric needle EMG demonstrated a "myopathic" pattern, usually predominating in the shoulder muscles. Single-fiber EMG showed increased jitter and/or blocking in at least one muscle in 13 of 16 patients. Jitter was increased in the frontalis muscle in 10 of 13 patients and in an arm muscle in 5 of 12. When both muscles were tested, jitter was greater in the frontalis muscle in 5 patients and in the arm muscle in 2. These observations demonstrate that it may be difficult to distinguish myasthenia gravis from CPEO by EMG. The frequency with which abnormal jitter is found in CPEO suggests that, in addition to a mild generalized myopathy, a primary defect in neuromuscular transmission may be present.

Chronic Disease↗