Many neuroelectrophysiological studies for uremic peripheral neuropathy revealed decreased motor and sensory nerve conduction velocities prior to significant clinical symptoms occurring, but a few done for central neuropathy.
In this study, transcranial magnetic stimulations with prefacilitation
for motor evoked potential to investigate motor pathways of upper and
lower extrimities were done for 27 normal subjects and 20 uremic patients received various long hemodialytic course; the patients' simple
prehemolytic biochemical data 3 months prior to this study were recorded, as well.
Absence of motor evoked potentials in upper and/or lower extrimities was found in 6 uremic patients and abnormality of F waves in 2 patients, which were not noticed in normal subjects.
Compared with normal subjects, uremic patients were significantly delayed in central motor conduction time of lower extrimity (CCTp) and in latencies of motor evoked potentials and F waves in both upper and lower extrimities (MC/APB, MC/AT, Fm, Fp, respectively) and declined in motor nerve conduction velocity of median nerves (MNCV) .
Biochemical data as well as duration of hemodialytic course were not
correlated with severity of decreased MNCV, but hematocret.
The abnormalities of motor evoked potentials in uremic patients may be caused by structural and/ or functional lesions in central and peripheral motor pathways and relative synaptic area.
