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4 rd Congress of the European Academy of Neurology Lisbon, Portugal, June 16 - 19, 2018 Hands-on Course 4 Basic EMG - needle EMG and transcranial magnetic stimulation as an electrodiagnostic tool - Level 2 Needle EMG Christian Krarup Copenhagen, Denmark Email: [email protected]

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Page 1: Needle EMG - EAN · spread of acetylcholine receptors outside the end-plate region and the resting membrane potential becomes depolarized. These changes occur with a delay which is

4rd Congress of the European Academy of Neurology

Lisbon, Portugal, June 16 - 19, 2018

Hands-on Course 4

Basic EMG - needle EMG and transcranial magnetic stimulation as an electrodiagnostic tool - Level 2

Needle EMG

Christian Krarup Copenhagen, Denmark

Email: [email protected]

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Conflict of interest: The author has no disclosures associated with this teaching course.

Introduction

Electromyography (EMG) is a method to study the integrity and function of

voluntary muscle and is applied to differentiate weakness due to diseases

of the lower motor neuron or peripheral nerve from that due to diseases

of the muscle itself.

The value of EMG is dependent on several factors including the clinical

context, the muscles examined and the pathophysiological findings.

Factors to be considered

1. Clinical history, complaints and physical examination

2. Identification of the pathological and pathophysiological nature of the

disease

3. Demonstration of the anatomical distribution and extent of

abnormalities

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EMG

The different parts of the EMG examination are intended to provide

information regarding the innervation and function of muscle fibers and

the motor unit, and they include:

1. Recordings at rest to investigate the presence of spontaneous activity.

2. Recordings at weak effort to investigate the characteristics of motor

unit potentials (MUP).

3. Recordings at maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) to investigate the

interference pattern.

Each of these parameters provides different information about patho-

physiological alterations of muscle fibers and motor units, and the changes

occur at different time points in relation to the disease process. It is

therefore necessary to include all the different aspects to arrive at the

most likely cause of weakness.

Methodological considerations

In diagnostic EMG a needle electrode is inserted vertically into the belly of

the muscle and the recordings are carried out from different motor units

by inserting the needle at different sites spaced by at least 1 cm

corresponding to the diameter of motor units. The needle used may be, 1)

a concentric needle with a core recording electrode referenced to the

cannula, or 2) a monopolar needle with a distal bared tip referenced to a

surface electrode. The two needle types yield different results in terms of

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the amplitudes and durations of the MUPs. In our department we use

concentric needle electrodes with a recording area of the core of 0.07

mm2. Other concentric needles with smaller recording areas are available,

but these yield different results dependent on the area of the recording

core.

The amplifiers should be adjusted to take the frequency content of the

EMG-signal into consideration. In our department the high pass filter

is set at 2 Hz and the low pass filter at 10 kHz. This is an important

consideration as filtering affects the shape, duration and amplitude of

the different parts of the potentials[20].

Measurements and interpretation of the EMG

Clinical interpretation of the EMG signal relies in many routine studies on

qualitative impressions of the recordings. This has the advantage that the

experienced electromyographer quickly can make recordings from many

muscles; however, the approach has both methodological and biological

limitations. Methodologically the limitations of qualitative evaluation of

the EMG are related to its dependence on, 1) the experience of the person

carrying out the study and the lack of documentation, and 2) the bias

introduced by relatively limited recordings from the muscle. Biologically,

the limitation of qualitative EMG evaluation is mainly due to the wide

variability of signals from normal and pathological muscle. In this

situation, too much reliance may be put on the presence of single

abnormal signals, whether these are denervation activity at rest or single

abnormal MUPs. In this connection it should, however, be mentioned that

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the presence of so-called “outliers” has been found to be a sensitive

parameter by some investigators[21].

The alternative methodological approach is so-called “quantitative” EMG

which mainly differs from the qualitative method by applying statistical

methods to the interpretation of EMG measurements. The method was

introduced by Buchthal and colleagues[1, 4, 6-8] by measurements of the

duration and amplitude of motor unit potentials (MUP). The basis for this

approach is that individual MUPs from the same muscle vary considerably

and that the use of recording from several sites in the muscle would allow

a more certain definition of abnormalities. Furthermore, the MUPs from

different muscles and at different ages vary considerably[9] and this

variability should be taken into consideration in the diagnostic approach.

The mechanism of the variable duration and amplitude of MUPs in the

same muscle is related to two main factors: 1) synchronization of arrival

of action potentials; the MUP is a compound response from the individual

muscle fibers in the motor unit, and the duration of the MUP is

determined mainly by the spatial dispersion of end-plates of each

individual muscle fiber. The amplitude of the MUP is determined by the

proximity of the few muscle fibers closest to the recording electrode. 2)

the number of muscle fibers in the motor unit; in general, the duration

and amplitude of the MUPs are correlated with the size of the motor unit.

The variability within the muscle requires that statistical evaluation is

used to ascertain whether the MUPs deviate from normal. 20-30 MUPs

are needed to calculate the mean duration and amplitude. Originally

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measurements were carried out by manual measurements on MUPs

recorded on film using a trigger and delay-line and. This approach was by

many busy clinicians found too time consuming and cumbersome, and

quantitative evaluation was therefore only used in some laboratories. The

use of less stringent methods may be one of the reasons that EMG by many

is considered unsuitable for the diagnosis of for example myopathy.

One of the limitations of quantitative EMG is that a trigger and delay line

is used to capture the MUP signal and therefore may be biased towards

larger potentials.

Automatic decomposition of the EMG signal

The use of computers to analyze the EMG signal has considerably aided

the speed of the examination and the diagnostic certainty of the

method[18]: 1) it is possible to rapidly collect and analyze a large number

of MUPs, and 2) the recording is less subject to bias since analysis is not

dependent on trigger to capture the MUP. The main requirement of the

algorithm is that it can extract and distinguish both large and small MUPs

from the EMG signal.

Spontaneous activity in voluntary muscle

In normal muscle, there is no activity at rest. Nevertheless, in the end-

plate zone recordings show base-line disturbances due to miniature end-

plate potentials (mepp) and in addition negative onset spike potentials

with amplitude of 100-150 µV with irregular intervals due to propagated

spontaneous end-plate potentials (epp). When recorded outside the end-

plate region these epp give rise to rare single fiber potentials that are

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indistinguishable from fibrillation potentials or positive sharp waves. Thus

recordings of fibrillation potentials or sharp-waves at up to two of 10

investigated sites is not an abnormal phenomenon[5]. When the needle

electrode is inserted into the muscle, this elicits a burst of insertional

activity which rapidly disappears.

Abnormal spontaneous activity includes a variety of phenomena such as

denervation potentials, fasciculations, myotonia, neuromyotonia,

myokymia, and complex repetitive discharges:

Denervation activity:

Muscle fibers that lose their innervation undergo several changes including

spread of acetylcholine receptors outside the end-plate region and the

resting membrane potential becomes depolarized. These changes occur

with a delay which is related to the length of the distal nerve stump[17],

and in parallel the individual muscle fibers start to contract

spontaneously[11] giving rise to action potentials that may be recorded

with intramuscular needle or surface electrodes[2, 3]. Thus, following a

proximal nerve lesion, recording of denervation activity in the extremities

may be delayed by several weeks. Furthermore, denervation activity is

temperature dependent being more frequent at physiological temperature

than after cooling and it is cyclic in its occurrence[23], which may explain

that 1/3-1/4 of partially denervated muscles do not show denervation

activity.

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Fibrillation potentials have a diphasic or triphasic shape and a duration of

3-5 ms and positive sharp waves may have a duration up to 20 ms, and

these often occur in the same recording. The amplitudes of fibrillation

potentials vary widely in the range of 50-150 µV but may be as high as

several hundred µV dependent on how close the recording electrode is to

the active muscle fiber. There have been some claims that the amplitude

is higher in severely denervated muscles[13, 14]; however, this could be

explained by a greater probability that the recording needle is close to

denervated muscle fibers. The discharge frequency and regularity is highly

variable, and in our analysis we find the same results as Buchthal that

regular and irregular firing occurs equally frequent[3]:

Firing patterns of individual fibrillation potentials or positive sharp waves

(PSWs) from completely denervated muscles were found to distribute

between regular and irregular firing.

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Denervation potentials occur in denervated muscles but they occur as well

in various myopathies, in particular myositis and muscular dystrophies[5,

12]. In myopathies denervation may be due to segmental necrosis and

isolation of parts of the muscle fiber, or it may be due to ion channel

abnormalities.

Fasciculations:

Fasciculations occur as irregular firing of groups of muscle fibers[11] that

may correspond to the motor unit. As opposed to fibrillation potentials,

which occur to a greater extent on warming the muscle, fasciculations

occur more frequently on cooling the muscle. In comparisons of MUPs and

fasciculations from the same muscle, their durations and amplitudes were

similar, suggesting that they originate from the same groups of fibers

(Nikolic, Crone, Hultborn, Krarup, 2006).

Motor unit potential (MUP)

The duration, amplitude and shape of MUPs are parameters that change in

patients with myopathy and in neurogenic lesions. The amplitudes of the

MUP are considerably more variable than the duration. The incidence of

polyphasic potentials is 12% in most limb muscles except in the deltoid

where the incidence is 25%. In the anterior tibial muscle the incidence

may be up to 20% and in facial muscles up to 25%.

The duration of MUPs in myopathy is shortened probably due to the loss of

muscle fibers in the motor unit and consequently a reduction of the slow

initial and terminal phases of the triphasic MUP. The amplitude of the

MUPs is normal or reduced.

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EMG from a patient with limb-girdle myopathy showing markedly

shortened potential duration and borderline changes in the MUP

amplitude.

In contrast the duration of MUPs in neurogenic lesions is prolonged due to

enlargement of the motor unit associated with collateral sprouting and

regeneration. The amplitude is normal or increased in different types of

lesions.

EMG from patient with ALS showing severe neurogenic changes with

markedly prolonged duration and increased amplitude.

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In some disorders the abnormalities may be difficult or impossible to

determine with certainty. In patients with critical illness neuropathy/

myopathy (CIPM) the EMG shows denervation and conduction studies raise

the possibility of axonal loss whereas MUP parameters may be more

consistent with myopathy[10]. In CIPM the disorder may be due to both

neuropathy and myopathy or to an affection of terminal axon

degeneration. Other disorders with both a neurogenic and a myogenic

component are inclusion body myositis.

Of considerable interest from a pathophysiological view is the presence of

unstable MUPs which has been termed “jiggle”[22]. Such MUP changes

may signify immature and unstable conduction in terminal axon branches,

or they may indicate disturbances of neuromuscular transmission:

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Recording of unstable MUP with blocking of components

Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)

At MVC all motor units in the muscle are activated and the individual MUPs

summate and cancel in an interference pattern. In normal muscle the

amplitude of the full activity during MVC ranges from 2 to 4 mV when re-

corded with a concentric needle. In weak muscle the recruitment pattern

may be reduced both in myopathy and in neurogenic lesions. If severe, the

loss of motor units is associated with a discrete pattern and is specific for

neurogenic lesions; the amplitude may be reduced, normal or increased. A

reliable and useful pattern during MVC presupposes that the activation is

maximal; if the patient cannot cooperate the submaximal effort is

difficult to interpret as the pattern may be reduced due to insufficient

activation. A similar abnormality may occur if activation is reduced due to

supranuclear weakness.

The pattern during submaximal or maximal effort may be further

evaluated to measure turns and amplitudes. The findings complement

changes obtained at weak effort[15, 16].

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Confidence limits in EMG

95% confidence limits in EMG[5]

Spontaneous activity Present in 2 sites of 10 investigated

Weak voluntary effort (mean of 25

MUPs or more) Motor unit potential duration: ± 20%[19]

Motor unit potential amplitude: -50% to +100%

Incidence of polyphasic potentials: 12% (25% in

Deltoid and Facial muscles, 20% in Anterior

Tibial)

Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) Full recruitment

Amplitude: 2-4 mV

Clinical interpretation of EMG

In most situations the electrophysiological studies must be interpreted by

gathering several criteria of pathology to arrive at a clinical diagnosis.

These criteria include abnormalities that indicate involvement of neurons,

nerves, neuromuscular transmission or muscle but also address the extent

and anatomical distribution of involvement. Thus, the EMG should include

areas of major involvement, i.e. proximal muscles in patients suspected of

myopathy and distal muscles in patients suspected of peripheral neuro-

pathies. Similarly, the distribution according to segmental areas should

be ascertained in patients with radiculopathies, according to nerve

innervation in patients suspected of mononeuropathies, and widely

distributed in patients suspected of motor neuron disease. Thus, studies

should include areas with clinical symptoms, but it is often also necessary

to evaluate the presence of subclinical disturbances.

The criteria that allow electrophysiological differential diagnosis of

myopathy versus neurogenic weakness should be combined with nerve

conduction studies to confirm diagnostic possibilities.

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Abnormalities at EMG may be classified as specific or non-specific

according to whether they occur only in myopathy or neurogenic disorder

or in both types of diseases. Thus, denervation activity is present in both

myopathy and in neurogenic lesions and the abnormality is classified as

non-specific. In contrast MUP duration and amplitude are reduced only in

myopathy, whereas an increase is seen only in neurogenic lesions, and

these abnormalities are classified as specific. The recruitment pattern at

MVC may be reduced in myopathy as well as in neurogenic lesions

indicating a non-specific abnormality, while a discrete pattern occurs only

in neurogenic lesions indicating a specific abnormality. A reduced

amplitude, full recruitment pattern is specific for myopathy whereas an

increased amplitude of the recruitment pattern occurs only in neurogenic

lesions[5].

EMG criteria of myopathy

Specific criteria Non-specific criteria

Weak effort:

Decrease in MUP duration

MVC:

Full recruitment in weak and wasted muscle

Reduced amplitude of full recruitment

pattern

Activity at rest:

Increased denervation activity

Weak effort:

Increased incidence of polyphasic MUPs

MVC:

Reduced recruitment pattern

EMG criteria of neurogenic impairment

Weak effort:

Increase in MUP duration

Increase in MUP amplitude

MVC:

Discrete recruitment pattern

Increased amplitude

Activity at rest:

Increased denervation activity

Weak effort:

Increased incidence of polyphasic

potentials

MVC:

Reduced recruitment pattern

Decreased amplitude

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References

1. Buchthal F: An introduction to electromyography. København, Stockholm,

Oslo: Scandinavian University Books; 1957.

2. Buchthal F: Fibrillations: clinical electrophysiology. In Abnormal nerves and

muscles as impulse generators. Edited by Culp WJ, Ochoa J: Oxford University

Press; 1982:632-662.

3. Buchthal F: Spontaneous electrical activity: an overview. Muscle Nerve 1982,

5:S52-S59.

4. Buchthal F: Electromyography in the evaluation of muscle disease.

Neurol.Clin. 1985, 3:573-598.

5. Buchthal F, Kamieniecka Z: The diagnostic yield of quantified

electromyography and quantified muscle biopsy in neuromuscular disorders.

Muscle & Nerve 1982, 5:265-280.

6. Buchthal F, Pinelli P: Action potentials in muscular atrophy of neurogenic

origin. Neurology 1953, 3:591-603.

7. Buchthal F, Pinelli P: Muscle action potentials in polymyositis. Neurology

1953, 3:424-436.

8. Buchthal F, Pinelli P, Rosenfalck P: Action potential parameters in normal

human muscle and their physiological determinants. Acta Physiol Scand. 1954,

32:219-229.

9. Buchthal F, Rosenfalck P: Action potential parameters in different human

muscles. Acta Psychiatr.Neurol.Scand. 1955, 30:125-131.

10. Crone C: Tetraparetic critically ill patients show electrophysiological signs of

myopathy. Muscle Nerve 2017, 56:433-440.

11. Denny-Brown D, Pennybacker JB: Fibrillation and fasciculation in voluntary

muscle. Brain 1938,61:311-334.

12. Desmedt JE, Borenstein S: Relationship of spontaneous fibrillation potentials

to muscle fibre segmentation in human muscular dystrophy. Nature 1975,

258:531-534.

13. Kraft GH: Fibrillation potential amplitude and muscle atrophy following

peripheral nerve injury. Edited by: American Association of Electromyography

and Electrodiagnosis; 1989:45-50.

14. Kraft GH: Are fibrillation potentials and positive sharp waves the same? No.

Muscle & Nerve 1996, 19:216-220.

15. Liguori R, Dahl K, Fuglsang-Frederiksen A: Turns-amplitude analysis of the

electromyographic recruitment pattern disregarding force measurement.

I. Method and reference values in healthy subjects. Muscle & Nerve 1992,

15:1314-1318.

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16. Liguori R, Dahl K, Fuglsang-Frederiksen A, Trojaborg W: Turns-amplitude

analysis of the electromyographic recruitment pattern disregarding force

measurement. II. Findings in patients with neuromuscular disorders. Muscle

& Nerve 1992, 15:1319-1324.

17. Luco JV, EYZAGUIRRE C: Fibrillation and hypersensitivity to ACh in denervated

muscle: effect of length of degenerating nerve fibers. J Neurophysiol. 1955,

18:65-73.

18. Nikolic M, Krarup C: EMGTools, an adaptive and versatile tool for detailed

EMG analysis. IEEE Trans.Biomed.Eng 2011, 58:2707-2718.

19. Rosenfalck P, Rosenfalck A: Electromyography - sensory and motor

conduction. Findings in normal subjects. Copenhagen: Laboratory of Clinical

Neurophysiology, Rigshospitalet; 1975.

20. Stålberg E, Andreassen S, Falck B, Lang H, Rosenfalck A, Trojaborg W:

Quantitative analysis of individual motor unit potentials: a proposition for

standardized terminology and criteria for measurement. J.Clin.Neurophysiol.

1986, 3:313-348.

21. Stålberg E, Bischoff C, Falck B: Outliers, a way to detect abnormality in

quantitative EMG. Muscle Nerve 1994, 17:392-399.

22. Stålberg EV, Sonoo M: Assessment of variability in the shape of the motor unit

action potential, the ''jiggle,'' at consecutive discharges. Muscle & Nerve 1994,

17:1135-1144.

23. Thesleff S: Fibrillation in denervated mammalian skeletal muscle. In

Abnormal nerves and muscles as impulse generators. Edited by Culp WJ,

Ochoa J: Oxford University Press; 1982:678-694.

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22/01/2018

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Electromyography - conventional

Christian Krarup, MD DMSc FRCP FEANDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology,

Rigshospitalet and University of Copenhagen,Denmark

Needle EMG

The hands-on course

• Needle EMG• Short theoretical introduction• Demonstration of practical

recording•Discussion with audience

• If time permits – discussion of cases

22/01/2018

1

Electromyography - conventional

Christian Krarup, MD DMSc FRCP FEANDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology,

Rigshospitalet and University of Copenhagen,Denmark

Needle EMG

The hands-on course

• Needle EMG• Short theoretical introduction• Demonstration of practical

recording•Discussion with audience

• If time permits – discussion of cases

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EMG is a central method to differentiate weakness due to neuromuscular disease

• Diagnose weakness as being due to:• Myopathy• Neurogenic lesion• Neuromuscular transmission• (CNS affection)

• Specific diagnosis of disease:• e.g. ALS, myotonic dystrophy

• Evaluate course of disease:• Acute• Chronic, sequelae• Progressive• Regeneration

Electrodes for recording EMG signals determine the parameters that can be

evaluated

Different electrodes record from different areas of the motor unit: A) macroelectrodes record from the whole motor unit, B) concentric needle (CN) electrode from selected areas, and C) SFEMG from an individual fiber

Equipment set-up should be considered:1. Frequency range: 2 (or 20Hz) – 10 kHz2. Trigger function3. Display: raw, superimposed, averaged MUP signals

22/01/2018

2

EMG is a central method to differentiate weakness due to neuromuscular disease

• Diagnose weakness as being due to:• Myopathy• Neurogenic lesion• Neuromuscular transmission• (CNS affection)

• Specific diagnosis of disease:• e.g. ALS, myotonic dystrophy

• Evaluate course of disease:• Acute• Chronic, sequelae• Progressive• Regeneration

Electrodes for recording EMG signals determine the parameters that can be

evaluated

Different electrodes record from different areas of the motor unit: A) macroelectrodes record from the whole motor unit, B) concentric needle (CN) electrode from selected areas, and C) SFEMG from an individual fiber

Equipment set-up should be considered:1. Frequency range: 2 (or 20Hz) – 10 kHz2. Trigger function3. Display: raw, superimposed, averaged MUP signals

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Elements of the EMG examination

• Activity at rest (stability & excitability of the muscle or axonal cell membrane):• Denervation activity• Fasciculations• Myotonia• Complex repetitive discharges

• Activity during weak effort (structure and function of motor units)

• Motor unit potentials

• Activity during maximal voluntary effort

• Recruitment pattern

End-plate potentials (EPP), miniature end plate potentials (MEPP), fibrillation activity

30ms

50 µ

V

22/01/2018

3

Elements of the EMG examination

• Activity at rest (stability & excitability of the muscle or axonal cell membrane):• Denervation activity• Fasciculations• Myotonia• Complex repetitive discharges

• Activity during weak effort (structure and function of motor units)

• Motor unit potentials

• Activity during maximal voluntary effort

• Recruitment pattern

End-plate potentials (EPP), miniature end plate potentials (MEPP), fibrillation activity

30ms

50 µ

V

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Clin. Neurophysiol.

The motor unit• Anterior horn cell,

nerve fiber, muscle fibers

• Anterior horn cell in the CNS

• Great variation in ”innervation ratio”

Basic muscle pathophysiology

• Muscle disease• degeneration/failure of muscle fibers

• loss of function of muscle fibers –weakness

• regeneration of muscle fibers• incorporation in M.U. – preserving

strength• final result

• Normal number but smaller M.U.

• Neurogenic disorders• denervation

• loss of function of M.U. - weakness• collateral sprouting and reinnervation

• incorporation of muscle fibers in remaining M.U. – recovery of function and preserving strength

• final result• fewer and larger M.U.

22/01/2018

4

Clin. Neurophysiol.

The motor unit• Anterior horn cell,

nerve fiber, muscle fibers

• Anterior horn cell in the CNS

• Great variation in ”innervation ratio”

Basic muscle pathophysiology

• Muscle disease• degeneration/failure of muscle fibers

• loss of function of muscle fibers –weakness

• regeneration of muscle fibers• incorporation in M.U. – preserving

strength• final result

• Normal number but smaller M.U.

• Neurogenic disorders• denervation

• loss of function of M.U. - weakness• collateral sprouting and reinnervation

• incorporation of muscle fibers in remaining M.U. – recovery of function and preserving strength

• final result• fewer and larger M.U.

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Motor unit potential variability

Measurements of durations and amplitudes of 1268 MUPs from the brachial biceps muscle of a normal man, aged 21 years. The durations ranged from 3 to 15 ms at different recording sites, from Buchthal

EMGtools process of decomposition

22/01/2018

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Motor unit potential variability

Measurements of durations and amplitudes of 1268 MUPs from the brachial biceps muscle of a normal man, aged 21 years. The durations ranged from 3 to 15 ms at different recording sites, from Buchthal

EMGtools process of decomposition

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Clin. Neurophysiol.

EMG: maximal effortM. extensor digitorum communis – normal muscle

M. biceps brachii - myopathy

M. vastus medialis – motor neuron disease (Kennedy)

M. tibialis anterior – functional paresis

Development of EMG changes in neurogenic disorders

• Stage Den MUP MVC

• Acute -/+ - +

• Intermediate + - +

• Chronic (+) + +

The timing of EMG should be carefully considered in connection with the clinical

problem

Days/week

weeksmonths

22/01/2018

6

Clin. Neurophysiol.

EMG: maximal effortM. extensor digitorum communis – normal muscle

M. biceps brachii - myopathy

M. vastus medialis – motor neuron disease (Kennedy)

M. tibialis anterior – functional paresis

Development of EMG changes in neurogenic disorders

• Stage Den MUP MVC

• Acute -/+ - +

• Intermediate + - +

• Chronic (+) + +

The timing of EMG should be carefully considered in connection with the clinical

problem

Days/week

weeksmonths

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MUP analysis in ALS

100ms

1m

VWeakness in 76-year-old man

EMG of the left Brachial Biceps

1s

100

µV

20ms

100

µV

Denervation activity

200ms

1mV

Maximal voluntary effort

Motor unit potentials at weak effort

1405

9/20

48/1

/2,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

9.2 ms171 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/3,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.5 ms134 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/4,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

6.7 ms96 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/1

/5,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.5 ms94 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/1

/6,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.3 ms89 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/1

/1,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.7 ms809 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/2,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

10.0 ms524 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/3,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

12.2 ms514 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/4,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.5 ms487 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/5,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

9.0 ms388 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/6,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.8 ms374 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/7,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.5 ms275 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/1

/8,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.5 ms150 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/9,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

9.2 ms94 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/2

/1,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

8.1 ms224 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/2

/2,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.6 ms167 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/2

/3,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

12.3 ms153 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/2

/4,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

10.9 ms93 mVPoly

1405

9/20

48/2

/5,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

8.3 ms42 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/2

/1,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

11.3 ms512 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/2

/2,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

11.8 ms416 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/2

/3,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

10.0 ms268 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/2

/4,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

7.1 ms217 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/2

/5,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.2 ms116 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/2

/6,c

h:2

100

mV

10 ms

8.0 ms100 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/3

/1,c

h:1

100

mV

10 ms

9.7 ms237 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/3

/2,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

8.6 ms87 mVPoly

1405

9/20

48/3

/3,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

9.0 ms67 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/3

/4,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

10.9 ms49 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/3

/1,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

14.6 ms331 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/3

/2,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

5.2 ms213 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/3

/3,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

5.4 ms131 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/3

/4,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

5.7 ms69 mVPoly

1405

9/20

48/3

/5,c

h:2

100

mV

10 ms

8.0 ms66 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/4

/1,c

h:1

100

mV

10 ms

9.7 ms307 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/4

/2,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

8.3 ms261 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/4

/3,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

11.6 ms141 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/4

/4,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

6.7 ms78 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/4

/1,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.8 ms691 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/4

/2,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

11.4 ms645 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/4

/3,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

9.4 ms354 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/4

/4,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.4 ms149 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/4

/5,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

7.7 ms128 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/5

/1,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.3 ms88 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/5

/2,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

6.5 ms66 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/5

/3,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.3 ms61 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/5

/4,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

6.8 ms57 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/5

/5,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.4 ms46 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/5

/6,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.3 ms28 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/5

/1,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

7.9 ms141 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/5

/2,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.2 ms106 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/5

/3,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

7.8 ms93 mVPoly

1405

9/20

48/5

/4,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

10.3 ms83 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/1

/1,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

8.1 ms279 mVSimple

22/01/2018

7

MUP analysis in ALS

100ms

1m

V

Weakness in 76-year-old manEMG of the left Brachial Biceps

1s

100

µV

20ms

100

µV

Denervation activity

200ms

1mV

Maximal voluntary effort

Motor unit potentials at weak effort

1405

9/20

48/1

/2,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

9.2 ms171 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/3,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.5 ms134 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/4,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

6.7 ms96 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/1

/5,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.5 ms94 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/1

/6,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.3 ms89 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/1

/1,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.7 ms809 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/2,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

10.0 ms524 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/3,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

12.2 ms514 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/4,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.5 ms487 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/5,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

9.0 ms388 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/6,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.8 ms374 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/7,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.5 ms275 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/1

/8,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.5 ms150 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/1

/9,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

9.2 ms94 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/2

/1,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

8.1 ms224 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/2

/2,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.6 ms167 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/2

/3,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

12.3 ms153 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/2

/4,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

10.9 ms93 mVPoly

1405

9/20

48/2

/5,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

8.3 ms42 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/2

/1,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

11.3 ms512 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/2

/2,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

11.8 ms416 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/2

/3,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

10.0 ms268 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/2

/4,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

7.1 ms217 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/2

/5,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.2 ms116 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/2

/6,c

h:2

100

mV

10 ms

8.0 ms100 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/3

/1,c

h:1

100

mV

10 ms

9.7 ms237 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/3

/2,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

8.6 ms87 mVPoly

1405

9/20

48/3

/3,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

9.0 ms67 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/3

/4,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

10.9 ms49 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/3

/1,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

14.6 ms331 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/3

/2,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

5.2 ms213 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/3

/3,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

5.4 ms131 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/3

/4,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

5.7 ms69 mVPoly

1405

9/20

48/3

/5,c

h:2

100

mV

10 ms

8.0 ms66 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/4

/1,c

h:1

100

mV

10 ms

9.7 ms307 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/4

/2,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

8.3 ms261 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/4

/3,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

11.6 ms141 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/4

/4,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

6.7 ms78 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/4

/1,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.8 ms691 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/4

/2,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

11.4 ms645 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/4

/3,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

9.4 ms354 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/4

/4,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.4 ms149 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/4

/5,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

7.7 ms128 mVSimple

1405

9/20

48/5

/1,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.3 ms88 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/5

/2,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

6.5 ms66 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/5

/3,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.3 ms61 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/5

/4,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

6.8 ms57 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/5

/5,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.4 ms46 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/5

/6,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

7.3 ms28 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/5

/1,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

7.9 ms141 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/5

/2,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

8.2 ms106 mV

Poly

1405

9/20

48/5

/3,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

7.8 ms93 mVPoly

1405

9/20

48/5

/4,c

h:2

100 m

V

10 ms

10.3 ms83 mV

Simple

1405

9/20

48/1

/1,c

h:1

100 m

V

10 ms

8.1 ms279 mVSimple

Page 24: Needle EMG - EAN · spread of acetylcholine receptors outside the end-plate region and the resting membrane potential becomes depolarized. These changes occur with a delay which is

23

22/01/2018

8

Summary

• Standardized approach• Timing of study• Denervation activity: mainly in neurogenic

disorders but also in some myopathies• MUP shape, amplitude and duration:

distinguish between myopathy and neurogenic lesions

• Recruitment pattern: important and difficult!