A novel approach for evaluating nerve function in healthy elderly persons: a pilot study.

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Gerontology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Motor nerve function declines with age, leading to motor abnormalities.
• Evoked electromyograms offer a novel approach to assess age-related changes in motor nerve function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate changes in motor nerve function in elderly versus young subjects.
• To compare motor nerve conduction velocity (NCV) with a new method, NCV by correlation coefficient (NCVCC).

Main Methods:

• Assessed motor function via grip strength, timed up-and-go, and walking tests.
• Calculated NCV using latency differences and NCVCC.
• Analyzed the difference between NCV and NCVCC (DNCV).

Main Results:

• Elderly individuals showed significant differences in grip strength, timed up-and-go, and fastest walk compared to young individuals.
• NCVCC was lower than NCV in both age groups, with a lower correlation coefficient peak in the elderly.
• A negative correlation between the correlation coefficient peak and DNCV was observed exclusively in elderly subjects.

Conclusions:

• NCVCC provides a comprehensive measure of motor nerve conduction velocity across motor units.
• The negative correlation in elderly subjects indicates a loss of motor nerve function with aging, irrespective of physical strength.
• These findings suggest potential clinical applications for examining age-related motor nerve function changes.