The Study Of TSEP By Electric Stimulating Trigeminal Nerve Among Different Age Groups

Objective:Trigeminal nerve is the most thick brain nerve, it is an mixed nerve. It contains somatosensory fiber and motor fiber that composed of a larger sensory root and a smaller motor root. It control the sensation of the most skin of head, face, nose, as well as muscle movement and muscle proprioception related to masticatory muscles. It has more branches, which consistent with each other and facial nerve. Trigeminal nerve involved by lesions will appear different clinical symptoms.Trigeminal somatosensory evoked potentials (TSEP) is formed by stimulating the particular part of trigeminal nerve sensory fiber distribution, we can record the potential arising from the trigeminal nerve branches in cortex. It can objectively reflect the functional state or injury on the trigeminal nerve sensory pathways. TSEP can provide the basis for the disease of trigeminal nerve pathways in the study and diagnosis. The method is widely applied to basic and clinical research. However, due to the use of laboratory testing equipment, operating conditions and the impact of the surrounding environment are not the same, combined stimulation, recorded in different ways, making a large difference between the results of the laboratory report. The result of TSEP affected by many factors, especially the age factor is of great significance, this research aims to explore the initial impact of age on TSEP, so as to provide a reference value for basic and clinical research, and lay the foundation for the future study of TSEP mechanism.Methods:We Selected the150healthy volunteers, including62men and88women, aged16～86years old, the average age was48.35±18.44years old, divided into three groups:young (<35years), mid-aged (36-59years), and old-aged (>60years), fifty people on every group. All of the150healthy volunteers according to the following conditions:①No medically contributory select;②Without the trigeminal nerve and facial nerve injury history;③Without major diseases;④No surgical or traumatic history on skull or maxillary and mandible. The machine is DISA-2000M nerve-muscle electromyogram made by Danmark, TSEP were recorded by stimulating three groups of the150volunteers, then calculated the latency and amptitude of TSEP. All data were dealt with statistical software SPSS17.0for windows by one-way ANOVA. There was a statistical significance when P<0.05occurred.Results:1. The150healthy cases (150sides) all obtained satisfied TSEP waves when stimulating the mental nerve, including the P1, N1,...,..., P5, N510positive and negative waves; the latencies and amplitudes of TSEP in statistic analysis show that the sex had not significant difference between male and female.2. The data by electric stimulating of the mental nerve among three groups, between the young and the mid-aged P3, N1P2, P2N2, N2P3have significant difference, P3of the mid-aged had prolonged, N1P2, P2N2, N2P3had elevated.3. The data by electric stimulating of the mental nerve among three groups, between the young and the old-aged N2, P3, P2N2have significant difference, N2, P3of the old-aged had prolonged, P2N2had elevated.4. The data by electric stimulating of the mental nerve among three groups, between the mid-aged and the old-aged P4have significant difference, P4of the old-aged had prolonged.Conclusion:The results show that with age increasing statistically significant latency had prolonged and amplitude had elevated. Leaned that the age factor that significantly affected the TSEP. And establish the laboratory data of different age groups of the normal reference values so as to offer basic physiological index for clinical using. In clinic we should have a comprehensive analysis according to the patient’s age and clinical symptoms to determine whether trigeminal nerve having exists lesions.