NERVE CONDUCTION STUDIES IN HEALTHY IRAQIS: NORMATIVE DATA

B. Hamdan, Farqad

	NERVE CONDUCTION STUDIES IN HEALTHY IRAQIS: NORMATIVE DATA
IRAQI JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES
Article 1, Volume 7, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 75-92
Author
Farqad B. Hamdan
Abstract
Background: Nerve conduction studies as part of the peripheral neurophysiologic examination are an extension of the clinical history and examination. They can be extremely useful both in localizing lesions and determining the pathological processes. Objective: To establish the normal electrophysiological data for the facial nerve and commonly tested nerves of the upper and lower limbs in healthy Iraqis and to compare with those data published in the literature. Methods: Nerve conduction studies were performed in the upper and lower limbs of 11,437 carefully screened healthy individuals between the ages of 2 months and 89 years using a standardized technique. Results: The data were separately analyzed for different age groups. In the age group less than 10 years, the sensory and motor nerve conduction velocities were progressively increasing with increasing age until adult values were reached. Later, in the adulthood, the conduction velocity of all tested nerves decreased with age and this is pronounced in both lower and upper limbs. Conclusion: Normative conduction parameters of the facial nerve and peripheral nerves in the upper and lower limbs were established for the EMG laboratory in Iraq. The overall mean sensory and motor nerve conduction parameters for the tested nerves compared favorably with the existing literature data. Keywords: Upper limbs, Lower limbs, Nerves, Conduction Velocity, Iraqis
Keywords
Upper limbs; Lower limbs; Nerves; Conduction Velocity; Iraqis

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