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. 1972 Dec;35(6):845-52.
doi: 10.1136/jnnp.35.6.845.

A method for estimating the number of motor units in thenar muscles and the changes in motor unit count with ageing

W F Brown

A method for estimating the number of motor units in thenar muscles and the changes in motor unit count with ageing

W F Brown. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1972 Dec.

Abstract

A method for estimating the number of motor units in median innervated thenar muscles is described. In normal human subjects under 40 years of age, the mean and 1 SD was 253+34. The number of motor units falls with increasing age, especially after mid life, so that elderly subjects often have less than one-half the number in youth despite good strength. The cause is not known but probably includes peripheral nerve trauma and `primary neuronal cell death'.

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