The utility of motor unit number index: A systematic review

The need for a valid biomarker for assessing disease progression and for use in clinical trials on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has stimulated the study of methods that could measure the number of motor units. Motor unit number index (MUNIX) is a newly developed neurophysiological technique t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurophysiologie clinique 2018-10, Vol.48 (5), p.251-259
Main Authors: Fatehi, Farzad, Grapperon, Aude-Marie, Fathi, Davood, Delmont, Emilien, Attarian, Shahram
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action Potentials - physiology
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - diagnosis
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - pathology
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - physiopathology
Anti-MAG neuropathy
Biomarkers
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
Clinical trials
Comparative analysis
Humans
Literature reviews
Motor neurons
Motor Neurons - physiology
Motor units
Multifocal motor neuropathy
Muscle, Skeletal - physiology
Muscle, Skeletal - physiopathology
Muscles
Nerve Degeneration - physiopathology
Neurological diseases
Neurons
Recruitment, Neurophysiological - physiology
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Summary:The need for a valid biomarker for assessing disease progression and for use in clinical trials on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has stimulated the study of methods that could measure the number of motor units. Motor unit number index (MUNIX) is a newly developed neurophysiological technique that was demonstrated to have a good correlation with the number of motor units in a given muscle, even though it does not necessarily accurately express the actual number of viable motor neurons. Several studies demonstrated the technique is reproducible and capable of following motor neuron loss in patients with ALS and peripheral polyneuropathies. The main goal of this review was to conduct an extensive review of the literature using MUNIX. We conducted a systematic search in English medical literature published in two databases (PubMed and SCOPUS). In this review, we aimed to answer the following queries: Comparison of MUNIX with other MUNE techniques; the reproducibility of MUNIX; the utility of MUNIX in ALS and preclinical muscles, peripheral neuropathies, and other neurological disorders.
ISSN:0987-7053
1769-7131
DOI:10.1016/j.neucli.2018.09.001