Fasciculations in nerve and muscle disorders – A prospective study of muscle ultrasound compared to electromyography

Fasciculations can be encountered in patients presenting with symptoms of nerve and muscle disorders (NMD) and can also be found in healthy subjects (HS). Fasciculations associated with chronic changes are clinically important findings in diagnosing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (Reimers et al., 1996; de Carvalho et al., 2008; Brooks, 1994; Costa et al., 2012; Mills, 2010) and were recognised as a part of the diagnostic criteria known as the Awaji criteria (de Carvalho et al., 2008). Electromyography (EMG) describes fasciculations as brief, involuntary muscle activity that represents the spontaneous discharge of a motor unit or a part hereof (Reimers et al., 1996) and it has been used to describe the complexity and the firing frequency of fasciculations in different disorders (Mills, 2010).

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