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. 2006 Aug;27(8):1145-54.
doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2005.06.009. Epub 2005 Aug 8.

Axonal degeneration affects muscle density in older men and women

Fulvio Lauretani  1 , Stefania Bandinelli, Benedetta Bartali, Angelo Di Iorio, Vittoria Giacomini, Anna Maria Corsi, Jack M Guralnik, Luigi Ferrucci
Affiliations

Axonal degeneration affects muscle density in older men and women

Fulvio Lauretani et al. Neurobiol Aging. 2006 Aug.

Abstract

Using data from InCHIANTI, a prospective population-based survey of older persons, we examined the relationship of peroneal nerve conduction velocity (NCV, a measure of nerve myelination) and compound muscle action potential (CMAP, a measure of axonal degeneration) with calf muscle mass and density, two complementary measures of sarcopenia. NCV and CMAP were assessed by surface electroneurography of the right peroneal nerve conducted in 1162 participants, 515 men and 647 women, age 21-96 years, free of major neurological diseases. Cross-sectional muscle area and calf muscle density were measured using peripheral quantitative computerized tomography (pQCT). Both nerve and muscle parameters declined with age although in most cases the decline was not linear. In both sexes, CMAP, but not NCV, was independently and significantly associated with calf muscle density. These findings suggest that intrinsic changes in the muscle tissue are partially caused by a reduction in the number of motor axons.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Scatter plots of the peroneal NCV and peroneal CMAP according to age in both sexes. Relationships are summarized by plotting expected values from piecewise adjusted models. Single values are plotted as circles for men and squares for women.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Scatter plots of the calf cross-sectional muscle area and muscle density according to age in both sexes. Relationships are summarized by plotting expected values from piecewise adjusted models. Single values are plotted as circles for men and squares for women.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Value of the regression coefficient for peroneal CMAP, calf muscle density and cross-sectional muscle area on age in both sexes. R2 increment compared to linear models obtained by fitting piecewise models with different age-thresholds between 20 and 80 years.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Scatter plots for age- and BMI-adjusted calf cross-sectional muscle area on peroneal NCV and peroneal CMAP in both sexes. Relationships are summarized by plotting estimated values from linear regression models. Single values are plotted as circles for men and squares for women.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Scatter plots for age- and BMI-adjusted calf muscle density on peroneal NCV and peroneal CMAP in both sexes. In the left panel, the relationship is summarized by plotting values predicted from a linear regression model, while in the left panel, by using a spline with 6 d.f. Single values are plotted as circles for men and squares for women.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
R2 increment compared to linear model obtained by fitting a series of piecewise regression models of the relationship between peroneal CMAP and muscle density, with CMAP threshold progressively changed from 0.5 to 8mV.
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References

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