Sympathetic sudomotor neural function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

• Published in: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 39 - 44
• Main Authors: Shindo, Kazumasa, Watanabe, Harue, Ohta, Emiko, Nagasaka, Takamura, Shiozawa, Zenji, Takiyama, Yoshihisa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa Healthcare 01.01.2011; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - physiopathology; central autonomic pathway; Electric Stimulation; Female; Humans; Male; Mathematics; Middle Aged; Muscle Contraction; Muscle, Smooth - innervation; Reaction Time; Reflex, Abnormal; Skin - blood supply; Skin - innervation; skin sympathetic nerve activity; skin vasomotor reflex; Stress, Psychological - physiopathology; Sweat Glands - innervation; Sympathetic Fibers, Postganglionic - physiopathology; sympathetic skin response; Vasoconstriction
• ISSN: 1748-2968; 1471-180X
• DOI: 10.3109/17482968.2010.508529

Abstract In patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sudomotor and vasomotor function have been considered to be impaired based on sympathetic skin response (SSR) or cutaneous blood flow measurements. We evaluated sympathetic sudomotor and vasoconstrictive neural function in ALS. We simultaneously recorded SSR, skin blood flow, and skin sympathetic nerve activity (SSNA) by microneurography in 20 patients with sporadic ALS and 20 healthy controls. Resting frequency of SSNA was significantly higher in ALS patients than in controls (p <0.05), but the increase of SSNA associated with mental arithmetic was smaller in ALS patients than controls (p <0.05). ALS patients also exhibited slight prolongation of SSNA reflex latencies compared with controls (p <0.05). In conclusion, sympathetic hyperactivity was observed in relation to sudomotor and vasoconstrictive skin responses. Since SSNA reflex latencies reflect central sympathetic function, the central autonomic pathways may be slightly impaired in patients with ALS.