Peripheral neuropathy is relatively common and affects 2%–3% of the population. Dysfunction in the peripheral nervous system can result from aging, injury, or disease, including infection and diabetes. Unlike the central nervous system, which is protected by bone and the blood brain barrier, the peripheral nervous system is more exposed to environmental toxins and can easily undergo trauma. The peripheral nervous system is the main intermediary between the brain and peripheral tissues. In this study, we employed a method used in humans for assessing the physiological function of peripheral nerves, nerve conduction velocity (NCV).

Thus, healthspan data are very important when assessing the effect of an experimental manipulation on aging and determining the potential of translating the experimental intervention to humans. Because long life in the presence of increased morbidity and dysfunction is not a desirable endpoint, we need to evaluate whether manipulations that increase life span also increase healthspan. While life span gives an accurate measure of how long an animal will live in response to a specific manipulation, it does not provide information on the effect of the manipulation on physiological functions of the animal. It is generally assumed that a manipulation which increases the mean and maximum life span of an organism also delays aging. Over the past two decades, great strides have been made in identifying experimental manipulations, largely genetic, that increase the life span of animal models ranging from yeast, nematodes, and flies to rodents. Peripheral nerves, Dietary restriction, Nerve conduction. Because NCV is clinically relevant to the assessment of nerve function, we recommend that NCV be used to evaluate healthspan in assessing genetic and pharmacological interventions that increase the life span of mice. Dietary restriction prevented the age-related decline in sciatic NCV but not other nerves.

We also tested the effect of dietary restriction on NCV in 30-month-old female mice. Sex differences were detected in sensory NCV as well as the rate of decline during aging in motor nerves female mice had slower sensory NCV and a slower age-related decline in motor nerves compared with male mice.

We observed a decline in NCV in both male and female mice after 20 months of age. In this study, we evaluated NCV in male and female C57Bl/6 mice ranging from 4 to 32 months of age. While several studies have shown that NCV declines with age in humans, there is little information on the effect of age on NCV in peripheral nerves in mice. A decline in peripheral nerve function is associated with a number of age-related pathologies.

Nerve conduction velocity (NCV), the speed at which electrical signals propagate along peripheral nerves, is used in the clinic to evaluate nerve function in humans.

Nerve conduction test for sciatica