Application of Motor Unit Estimation Index in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Related Diseases

This was a cross-sectional study in which patients were divided into 20 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 20 patients with peroneal muscular dystrophy, 20 patients with Kennedy's disease and 30 healthy controls, in which patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis continued to be followed up for 1 year and the results of 4 cross-sectional examinations were taken.

Background Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts in middle age and manifests mainly as progressive atrophy and weakness of skeletal muscles throughout the body, with death from respiratory muscle involvement after 3 to 5 years. There are no biomarkers for early diagnosis and no effective treatments. Because of the rapid progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, it is important to find indicators that can objectively reflect early changes in the disease. The motor unit number index (MUNIX) is a non-invasive, rapid and objective method to assess the number of motor units, which reflects the loss of motor neurons and has its theoretical basis in monitoring early disease progression. Objective To explore the diagnostic value of MUNIX in motor neuron disease and other related disorders. To investigate the role of the 1-year rate of change of MUNIX in monitoring the disease progression in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. To investigate the role of MUNIX in predicting survival analysis of ALS patients \[Design\] This was a cross-sectional study in which patients were divided into 20 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 20 patients with peroneal muscular dystrophy, 20 patients with Kennedy's disease and 30 healthy controls, in which patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis continued to be followed up for 1 year and the results of 4 cross-sectional examinations were taken.