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Abstracts of the 8th Meeting of the Italian Peripheral Nerve Study Group: 43
Author(s) -
Amadio S,
Corradi A,
Croci L,
Broccoli V,
Zecchini S,
Previtali S,
Wurst W,
Maggi R,
Del Carro U,
Quattrini A,
Consalez GG
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of the peripheral nervous system
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1529-8027
pISSN - 1085-9489
DOI - 10.1046/j.1529-8027.2003.00043.x
Subject(s) - sciatic nerve , nerve conduction velocity , electrophysiology , axon , compound muscle action potential , peripheral , medicine , endocrinology , peripheral neuropathy , peripheral nervous system , anatomy , chemistry , central nervous system , diabetes mellitus
Study aim: the Ebf gene family has been implicated in several developmental processes, ranging from B‐cell development to neuronal differentiation. As the murine Ebf2 gene is expressed in numerous sites of nervous system, Ebf2‐null mice develop hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, due to defective migration of gonadotropin releasing hormone‐synthesizing neurons, and a peripheral neuropathy as well. Therefore, we aimed to study whether electrophysiological tests would be able to detect abnormalities of peripheral nerve function. Methods: 2 groups of mice were studied, which consisted of 8 Ebf2‐/‐ mice and 9 age‐matched controls. The sciatic nerve was stimulated at the ankle and at the ischiatic notch; the compound motor action potential (cMAP) was recorded from the paw muscles with a pair of needle electrodes to measure the motor conduction velocity (MCV). Results: MCV mean values were lower in Ebf2‐/‐(21.8 m/sec; SD 2.9) than in controls (35.2 m/sec; SD 2.6) and the difference was significant (p < 0.001). The mean cMAP amplitude was also decreased in Ebf2‐/‐(6.2 mV; SD 2.7) as compared to controls (9.3 mV; SD 2.6, p < 0.05). Conclusions: electrophysiological tests demonstrated a sharp decrease of sciatic MCV in Ebf2‐/‐ mouse, as consequence of defective axon sorting, segmental dysmyelination and axonal damage revealed by pathological study.