While much of the major clinical and research interest in patellofemoral pain (PFP) has been targeted to the local knee muscles, it has long been recognized that proximal (hip and pelvis) biomechanics may be impaired in people with PFP. This clinical observation has led to recent research in pelvis and hip muscle contributions to PFP. Hip muscles (particularly the abductors and external rotator...

The vertebrate musculoskeletal system is composed of skeletal levers powered by muscles. Effective mechanical advantage (EMA) and muscle properties influence organismal performance at various tasks. Anatomical mechanical advantage (AMA) is a proxy for EMA that facilitates the study of preserved specimens when many muscles or many species are of interest. AMA is the quotient of in-lever to out-l...

The innervation pattern of inhibitory motor neurones of the locust has been revealed by intracellular recording from their cell bodies in the meso- and metathoracic ganglion and simultaneous recording from muscle fibres in a middle, or in a hind leg. Three neurones in each ganglion, the common inhibitor (CI = CI1), the anterior inhibitor (AI = CI2), and the posterior inhibitor (PI = CI3) innerv...

Abstract Objective. Proximal-to-distal compensation is commonly observed in the upper extremity (UE) after a stroke, mainly due to impaired fine motor control hand joints. However, little known about its related neural reorganization. This study investigated pathway-specific corticomuscular interaction proximal-to-distal UE during of finger extension post-stroke by directed coherence (dCMC). Ap...

P limb-girdle type involvement without any oculobulbar impairment is an unusual presentation of acquired myasthenia gravis (MG). In view of the predominant proximal muscle weakness, many patients are diagnosed as myopathy or polymyositis despite a normal serum level of creatine kinase (CK).1 The diagnosis of MG is established by the occurrence of a characteristic decremental muscular response t...

The activity of motor cortical cells and proximal arm muscles during the initiation of planar reaching movements were analyzed to identify whether features of coordinated motor patterns of muscles spanning the elbow and shoulder were evident in the discharge patterns of motor cortical cells. Shoulder and elbow muscles were divided into four groups, flexors and extensors at each joint. Features ...

The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the relative frequencies of fasciculations assessed by sonography in a large number of muscles in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The patients diagnosed as having ALS were retrospectively assessed by muscle sonography. The frequencies of having fasciculations were compared among the 15 muscles and the subtypes according to the...

The source of environmental cues determining the central connections of muscle sensory neurons was investigated by manipulating chick embryos so that sensory neurons supplied a duplicate set of dorsal thigh muscles. These neurons projected out ventral nerve pathways and along motor axons that normally project to ventral muscles but their ultimate target tissue was the duplicate set of dorsal mu...

Myofibrillar myopathies (MFMs) are typically autosomal dominant myopathies with late onset progressive muscle weakness and symptoms initially evident in the distal muscle groups. However, there is a significant variability in the presentation of these diseases, with the age of onset ranging from infantile to late seventies; the involvement of the heart, respiratory muscles, distal or proximal m...

BACKGROUND Impaired balance, loss of mobility and falls are major problems associated with changes in muscle in older adults. However, the extent to which muscle composition and related performance measures for different lower limb muscles are associated with falls in older individuals is unclear. This study evaluated lower limb muscle attenuation, intramuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) infiltrati...