Fasciculation potentials and decremental responses in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Clinically-observed fasciculations and fasciculation potentials (FPs) in needle EMG are characteristic findings of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (Wilbourn, 1998) and have been postulated to reflect the hyperexcitability of the lower motor neuron (Bostock et al., 1995). Decremental responses (hereafter abbreviated as "decrement") in repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) are also frequently observed in ALS patients (Mulder et al., 1959; Iwanami et al., 2011; Hatanaka et al., 2017). These are usually thought to reflect immature nerve terminals in newly-formed sprouts (Stålberg et al., 1975), although the precise mechanism is yet to be clarified.

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