A method for estimating the number of motor units in thenar muscles and the changes in motor unit count with ageing
Open Access
- 1 December 1972
- journal article
- research article
- Published by BMJ in Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
- Vol. 35 (6) , 845-852
- https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.35.6.845
Abstract
A method for estimating the number of motor units in median innervated thenar muscles is described. In normal human subjects under 40 years of age, the mean and 1 SD was 253+34. The number of motor units falls with increasing age, especially after mid life, so that elderly subjects often have less than one-half the number in youth despite good strength. The cause is not known but probably includes peripheral nerve trauma and `primary neuronal cell death'.Keywords
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