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Cortical Excitability in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Clue to Pathogenesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Andrew Eisen ,
Bhanu Pant  and
Heather Stewart
Andrew Eisen*
Affiliation:
Neuromuscular Diseases Unit, The Vancouver General Hospital and The University of BritishColumbia, Vancouver
Bhanu Pant
Affiliation:
Neuromuscular Diseases Unit, The Vancouver General Hospital and The University of BritishColumbia, Vancouver
Heather Stewart
Affiliation:
Neuromuscular Diseases Unit, The Vancouver General Hospital and The University of BritishColumbia, Vancouver
*
The Neuromuscular Diseases Unit, The Vancouver General Hospital, 855 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V5Z 1M9
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Abstract:

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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.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , February 1993 , pp. 11 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1993

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