Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026

Utility of Dissociated Intrinsic Hand Muscle Atrophy in the Diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Published on: March 4, 2014
Evaluation of spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy by the clustering index method
Mana Higashihara1, Masahiro Sonoo, Tomotaka Yamamoto
1Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Introduction:
A reliable electrophysiological marker for clinical trials is increasingly needed in spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA). We previously developed a quantitative analysis method for surface electromyography (SEMG), the clustering index (CI) method. Our purpose was to test the utility of the CI method for evaluating lower motor neuron involvement in SBMA patients.
Methods:
Subjects included 29 SBMA patients and 27 healthy controls. The recording electrode was placed over the abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscle with a proximal reference. The Z-score, based on the CI method, was compared with compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude and motor unit number estimation (MUNE), with regard to sensitivity.
Results:
The Z-scores of the CI method, CMAP amplitude, and MUNE were abnormal in 100%, 72%, and 93% of the patients, respectively. Interrater reliability of the CI method was sufficiently high.
Conclusion:
The CI method is promising as a non-invasive electrophysiological marker in SBMA.
More Related Videos
12:27Large-scale Reconstructions and Independent, Unbiased Clustering Based on Morphological Metrics to Classify Neurons in Selective Populations
Published on: February 15, 2017
09:07Electrophysiological Motor Unit Number Estimation (MUNE) Measuring Compound Muscle Action Potential (CMAP) in Mouse Hindlimb Muscles
Published on: September 25, 2015