Neuromuscular Diagnostics Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 165 Cambridge Street, Suite 820, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
Muscle Nerve. 2010 Jun;41(6):794-9. doi: 10.1002/mus.21590.
Motor unit number estimation (MUNE) allows for quantitative assessment of functional motor units in a nerve. Several techniques have been applied to human studies. Although MUNE has been performed in animals to study neurological disorders, reproducibility has not been addressed. We analyzed the test-retest reproducibility of an incremental MUNE technique in rabbits and performed histological correlation. A peroneal MUNE was performed in 9 rabbits on two occasions separated by 30 days. MUNE was then performed on 18 rabbits prior to euthanize. A count of total fibers and a second count of large myelinated fibers were performed on nerve cross-sections. Test-retest reproducibility revealed an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.75. The average test-retest relative difference was 26.6%. Comparison of MUNE and histomorphometrical counts revealed a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.21 (total fiber counts) and 0.27 (large fibers). Although incremental MUNE has a high degree of reproducibility in rabbits, there is poor correlation with histological fiber counts.
运动单位数量估计（MUNE）可定量评估神经中的功能性运动单位。已经有几种技术应用于人体研究。尽管 MUNE 已在动物中用于研究神经疾病，但尚未解决其可重复性。我们分析了在兔子中进行递增 MUNE 技术的测试-重测重现性，并进行了组织学相关性分析。在两次间隔 30 天的时间里，对 9 只兔子进行了腓肠肌 MUNE。然后，在处死前对 18 只兔子进行了 MUNE。对神经横切面上的总纤维进行计数，并对第二次大有髓纤维进行计数。测试-重测重现性显示组内相关系数（ICC）为 0.75。平均测试-重测相对差异为 26.6%。MUNE 与组织形态计量计数的比较显示相关系数（r）分别为 0.21（总纤维计数）和 0.27（大纤维）。虽然递增 MUNE 在兔子中具有高度的可重复性，但与组织学纤维计数相关性较差。
