This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Abstract
We evaluated somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) to tibial nerve stimulation in 39 patients with sporadic motor neuron disease using multiple scalp derivations (earlobe reference).SEPs were altered in 22 of 29 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, whereas they were unaffected in 10 progressive muscular atrophy (PMA) patients. The main changes involved the amplitude and the field distribution of the early P40 and N37 cortical potentials with different modalities varying from a selective loss of the P40 potential (33% of tested sides) to absence of all early cortical SEPs (22% of tested sides). The later components following N50 were generally spared. The commonly used Cz-Fz montage was inadequate for detecting these alterations. Central afferent conduction was slightly affected. The selective loss of cortical SEPs and their close correlation with clinicoelectrophysiologic evidence of central motor system involvement strongly support a cortical origin of the SEP alterations in ALS. We suggest that neuronal loss in the somatosensory cortex may selectively affect the generator sites of the cortical SEPs to lower limb stimulation.
NEUROLOGY 1996;47: 932-938
- Copyright 1996 by Advanstar Communications Inc.
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
