Peripheral nerve conduction and central motor conduction after magnetic stimulation of the brain in myotonic dystrophy.

Central motor conduction time was calculated after magnetic stimulation of the brain in 15 patients with myotonic dystrophy and in 38 healthy voluntaries of the same age. Conventional electromyography and motor and sensory conduction velocities were also performed. Central motor conduction time from vertex to C8 was within the normal range in all patients whereas motor conduction velocity of the peripheral nerve and amplitude of the nerve evoked potentials were slightly reduced in 3 and 2 cases respectively, supporting peripheral nerve involvement in some subjects. Our results suggest that the reported central nervous system involvement in myotonic dystrophy, including the nonspecific white matter lesions showed by magnetic resonance imaging, would not affect the conduction of the corticospinal tracts. Magnetic stimulation on the motor cortex is a painless method to study the central nervous system and apports a satisfactory approximation to central motor pathways conduction.