Surface Stimulation Single-Fiber Electromyography in Myasthenia Gravis

• Published in: Journal of clinical neurophysiology Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 73 - 76
• Main Authors: Baslo, M Bariş, Yildiz, Nebil, Ertaş, Mustafa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Copyright American Clinical Neurophysiology Society 01-01-2002
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Axons - physiology; Electric Stimulation; Electromyography; Facial Nerve - physiopathology; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Myasthenia Gravis - diagnosis; Myasthenia Gravis - physiopathology; Nerve Fibers - physiology; Neuromuscular Junction - physiopathology; Reference Values; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; Synaptic Transmission - physiology
• ISSN: 0736-0258; 1537-1603
• DOI: 10.1097/00004691-200201000-00010

SUMMARY Surface stimulation for single-fiber electromyography has been proposed previously as a novel technique based on a study performed on healthy subjects. The current study was designed to determine the diagnostic value of surface stimulation single-fiber electromyography in patients with myasthenia gravis. Ten patients with myasthenia gravis were recruited for the study. Surface stimulation of the facial nerve trunk, as well as extramuscular needle stimulation of its zygomatic branch was performed. Twenty single-fiber potentials were recorded from the orbicularis oculi muscle for each stimulation type in each patient. For both stimulation techniques, mean jitter values and the total number of abnormal individual junctions were found to be abnormally high. Jitter values obtained by surface stimulation were comparable with those obtained by needle stimulation.