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Fibrillation potentials following spinal cord injury: Improvement with neurotrophins and exercise
Author(s) -
Burns Anthony S.,
Boyce Vanessa S.,
Tessler Alan,
Lemay Michel A.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.20738
Subject(s) - medicine , spinal cord , neurotrophin , electromyography , spinal cord injury , electrophysiology , neurotrophic factors , cats , hindlimb , denervation , anesthesia , cardiology , anatomy , neuroscience , physical medicine and rehabilitation , psychology , receptor , psychiatry
Fibrillation potentials and positive sharp waves (spontaneous potentials) are the electrophysiological hallmark of denervated skeletal muscle, and their detection by intramuscular electromyography (EMG) is the clinical gold standard for diagnosing denervated skeletal muscle. Surprisingly, spontaneous potentials have been described following human and experimental spinal cord injury (SCI) in muscles innervated by spinal cord segments distal to the level of direct spinal injury. To determine whether electrophysiological abnormalities are improved by two therapeutic interventions for experimental SCI, neurotrophic factors and exercise training, we studied four representative hindlimb muscles in adult domestic short‐hair cats following complete transection of the spinal cord at T11–T12. In untreated cats, electrophysiological abnormalities persisted unchanged for 12 weeks postinjury, the longest duration studied. In contrast, fibrillations and positive sharp waves largely resolved in animals that underwent weight‐supported treadmill training or received grafts containing fibroblasts genetically modified to express brain‐derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin‐3. These findings suggest that neurotrophins and activity play an important role in the poorly understood phenomenon of fibrillations distal to SCI. Muscle Nerve, 2007