[Tibial nerve somatosensory evoked potentials: studies on latency variability as a function of subject height and age].

Scalp-recorded somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) to posterior tibial nerve stimulation were studied in healthy volunteers (27 males and 25 females) aged 15-67 years. Age alone was not correlated with SEP latencies, except for P 60 latency, but multiple regression analysis with two independent variables (height and age) showed that not only height but also age is a significant parameter in determining the optimal clinical limits for individual SEP latencies, and may increase the diagnostic sensitivity of absolute SEP latencies. There was no gender difference in the latencies of SEP in multiple correlation analysis involving height and age. A negative correlation tended to be found between height and age in adult subjects, although this is thought to be a characteristic of Japanese, it may show the necessity of renewing regression models at intervals of 5 or 10 years.