Denervation

This magnified image of type 2 muscle fibers shows denervation atrophy occurring at the white spaces at the top left and bottom center of the image. The white space represents a disruption of the nerve fibers, resulting in a loss of nerve supply to the muscle fibers.

Denervation is any loss of nerve supply regardless of the cause. If the nerves lost to denervation are part of the neuronal communication to a specific function in the body then altered or a loss of physiological functioning can occur.[1] Denervation can be caused by injury or be a symptom of a disorder like ALS,[2] post-polio syndrome,[3] or POTS.[4][5] Additionally, it can be a useful surgical technique to alleviate major negative symptoms, such as in renal denervation. Denervation can have many harmful side effects such as increased risk of infection and tissue dysfunction.[6]

  1. ^ Forster, H. V. (2003-02-01). "Invited Review: Plasticity in the control of breathing following sensory denervation". Journal of Applied Physiology. 94 (2): 784–794. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00602.2002. ISSN 8750-7587. PMID 12531915.
  2. ^ Kwan, Thaddaeus; Kazamel, Mohamed; Thoenes, Kristina; Si, Ying; Jiang, Nan; King, Peter H. (2020-10-07). "Wnt antagonist FRZB is a muscle biomarker of denervation atrophy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 16679. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-73845-z. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 7541525. PMID 33028902. S2CID 222209385.
  3. ^ Jubelt, B.; Cashman, N. R. (1987). "Neurological manifestations of the post-polio syndrome". Critical Reviews in Neurobiology. 3 (3): 199–220. ISSN 0892-0915. PMID 3315237.
  4. ^ Lei, Lucy Y.; Chew, Derek S.; Sheldon, Robert S.; Raj, Satish R. (2019-05-01). "Evaluating and managing postural tachycardia syndrome". Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 86 (5): 333–344. doi:10.3949/ccjm.86a.18002. ISSN 0891-1150. PMID 31066664. S2CID 147705420.
  5. ^ Haensch, Carl-Albrecht; Tosch, Marco; Katona, Istvan; Weis, Joachim; Isenmann, Stefan (December 2014). "Small-fiber neuropathy with cardiac denervation in postural tachycardia syndrome". Muscle & Nerve. 50 (6): 956–961. doi:10.1002/mus.24245. ISSN 1097-4598. PMID 24647968. S2CID 3301605.
  6. ^ Quinn, M. J. (2011-11-01). "Origins of Western diseases". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 104 (11): 449–456. doi:10.1258/jrsm.2011.110014. ISSN 0141-0768. PMC 3206721. PMID 22048676.