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Epidermal innervation in healthy children and adolescents
Author(s) -
Panoutsopoulou Ioanna G.,
Luciano Carlos A.,
WendelschaferCrabb Gwen,
Hodges James S.,
Kennedy William R.
Publication year - 2015
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.24329
Subject(s) - medicine , biopsy , skin biopsy , nerve fiber , suction blister , population , pathology , suction , punch biopsy , anatomy , mechanical engineering , environmental health , engineering
: Epidermal nerve fiber (ENF) density, morphology, and epidermal innervation patterns were examined in children using 2 different techniques, punch biopsy and suction blister. Methods : Healthy children without symptoms or history of peripheral neuropathy and normal by neurologic examination were studied. Punch biopsy and suction blister specimens were collected from the lateral thigh and distal leg. ENFs were traced from confocal images of immunohistochemically stained samples. Statistical methods included repeated‐measures analysis of covariance. Results : Blister and biopsy nerve counts were associated. ENF density in children was dense, lower for older children ( P < 0.01) and with no difference between boys and girls ( P = 0.92). Many ENFs appeared multibranched and elongated. Conclusions : Epidermal innervation in the pediatric population is dense and age‐dependent. Blister specimens are less invasive and may provide an alternative to punch biopsy for determining ENF density in children at risk for neuropathy. Muscle Nerve 51 : 378–384, 2015