AGE RELATED CHANGES IN ULNAR AND MEDIAN NERVE CONDUCTION PARAMETERS: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Authors

  • Maria Shafiq Department of Physiology, Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad, Pakistan
  • Syed Hamid Habib Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan
  • Shazia Faqir Department of Physiology Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad, Pakistan
  • Madiha Khattak Department of Physiology, Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan
  • Abdus Saboor Awan School of Medicine, Dentistry and Allied Sciences, Haripur, Pakistan
  • Shazia Tauqeer Department of Physiology, Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad, Pakistan
  • Uzma Khan Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Al-Rayan National Colleges, Medina Munawarra, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v22i2.1941

Keywords:

Median nerve, Nerve conduction, Nerve conduction velocity, Ulnar nerve

Abstract

Background: Nerve conduction study (NCS) is an important method to assess integrity of peripheral nervous system. It helps in diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of diseases of peripheral nerves. Nerve conduction study parameters, like conduction velocity (NCV), latency and amplitude are affected by several different physical factors like temperature, demography, and ethnicity. It can also be affected by age, gender, height, weight, and BMI. This study was conducted to find out the age-related changes in median and ulnar nerve conduction parameters. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with a total of 75 participants 40–70 years of age, conducted at Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, from July 2021 to July 2022. Participants were divided into three groups: 40–50 years, 51–60 years, and 61–70 years. The inclusion criteria were normal neurological examination, normal blood sugar, urea, creatinine, LFTs and ESR. Pregnant women and patients with bleeding disorders were excluded from study. NCS was recorded on Nihon Kohden Neuropack. Data was analysed using SPSS-22. One-way ANOVA with Tukey Post Hoc analysis for multiple group comparisons was done between groups. Results: There was a decline in nerve conduction study parameters associated with advancing age (p<0.05). The amplitude of both nerve impulses decreased while latency increased with advancing age. There was decline in motor and sensory NCV with advancing age. Conclusion: The nerve functioning decreased with advancing age. This decline was more marked in motor conduction compared to sensory conduction.

Pak J Physiol 2026;22(2):73-6,  DOI: https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v22i2.1941

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Pripotnev S, Bucelli RC, Patterson JMM, Yee A, Pet MA, Mackinnon S. Interpreting electrodiagnostic studies for the management of nerve injury. J Hand Surg Am 2022;47(9):881–9.

Kimura J, Strakowski JA, (Eds). Electrodiagnosis in diseases of nerve and muscle: principles and practice: Oxford university press; 2025.

Galvez-Jimenez N, Morren JA, Soriano A, Armstrong K, Goldberg M, Gonzalez L, et al. Atlas of nerve conduction studies (NCS). In: Galvez-Jimenez N, Morren JA, Soriano A, (Eds). Electrodiagnostic Medicine: A Practical Approach. Springer; 2021.p. 25–42.

Taams NE, Drenthen J, Hanewinckel R, Ikram MA, van Doorn PA. Age-related changes in neurologic examination and sensory nerve amplitude in the general population. Neurology 2023;101(13):e1351–8.

Uncini A, Cavallaro T, Fabrizi GM, Manganelli F, Vallat JM. Conduction slowing, conduction block and temporal dispersion in demyelinating, dysmyelinating and axonal neuropathies: Electrophysiology meets pathology. J Peripher Nerv Syst 2024;29(2):135–60.

Mattiuzzi C, Lippi G. Worldwide disease epidemiology in the older persons. Eur Geriatr Med 2020;11(1):147–53.

Bjerg L, Nicolaisen SK, Christensen DH, Nielsen JS, Andersen ST, Jørgensen ME, et al. Diabetic polyneuropathy early in type 2 diabetes is associated with higher incidence rate of cardiovascular disease: results from two Danish cohort studies. Diabetes Care 2021;44(7):1714–21.

Singh R, Roy S, Ghildiyal A, Verma S. Association of anthropometry with nerve conduction parameters of median nerve: a cross-sectional study in a North Indian medical university hospital. Cureus 2024;16(7):e63946.

Mallik A, Weir AI. Nerve conduction studies: essentials and pitfalls in practice. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2005;76 (suppl 2):23–31.

Loewenbrück KF, Werner R, Günther R, Dittrich M, Klingenberger R, Reichmann H, et al. One nerve suffices: a clinically guided nerve ultrasound protocol for the differentiation of multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). J Neurol 2021;268(4):1495–507.

Shi T, Zhou Z, Xiang T, Suo Y, Shi X, Li Y, et al. Cytoskeleton dysfunction of motor neuron in spinal muscular atrophy. J Neurol 2025;272(1):19.

Boo YC. Mechanistic basis and clinical evidence for the applications of nicotinamide (niacinamide) to control skin aging and pigmentation. Antioxidants (Basel) 2021;10(8):1315.

Butt AM, Rivera AD, Fulton D, Azim K. Targeting the subventricular zone to promote myelin repair in the aging brain. Neurosci 2022;11(11):1809.

Tong HC, Werner RA, Franzblau A. Effect of aging on sensory nerve conduction study parameters. Muscle Nerve 2004;29(5):716–20.

Falco P, Galosi E, Di Stefano G, Leone C, Di Pietro G, Tramontana L, et al. Autonomic small-fiber pathology in patients with fibromyalgia. J Pain 2024;25(1):64–72.

Suthar HR, Goplani VL, Prajapati P, Panchal V. Influence of aging on nerve conduction properties in healthy individuals: A cross-sectional study. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol 2022;12(3):356–9.

Fong SW, Liu BWF, Sin CL, Lee KS, Wong TM, Choi KS, et al. A systematic review of the methodology of sonographic assessment of upper limb activities-associated carpal tunnel syndrome. J Chin Med Assoc 2021;84(2):212–20.

Walker KA, Duggan MR, Gong Z, Dark HE, Laporte JP, Faulkner ME, et al. MRI and fluid biomarkers reveal determinants of myelin and axonal loss with aging. Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2023;10(3):397–407.

Downloads

Published

30-06-2026

How to Cite

1.
Shafiq M, Syed Hamid Habib, Faqir S, Khattak M, Abdus Saboor Awan, Shazia Tauqeer, et al. AGE RELATED CHANGES IN ULNAR AND MEDIAN NERVE CONDUCTION PARAMETERS: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY. Pak J Phsyiol [Internet]. 2026 Jun. 30 [cited 2026 Jul. 2];22(2):73-6. Available from: https://pjp.pps.org.pk/index.php/PJP/article/view/1941