Effects of radiation-induced fatigue on motor function

Authors

• SA Raheem
• B Wolff
• R Feng
• LN Saligan

Abstract

Fatigue is a common and highly distressing symptom reported by patients following cancer treatments including radiation therapy. The effects of radiation-induced fatigue are poorly understood, which may be an impediment to the development of effective therapies. Because fatigue is often characterized as reduced physical activity, it is possible that fatigue may be associated with or even mistaken for neuromuscular deficits. This study investigates the association of fatigue with impairment in motor function and neuromuscular deficits. Motor-specific fatigue behavior was assessed using rotarod testing from a irradiation-induced fatigue mouse model. Neuromuscular deficit was measured by assessing changes in neuromuscular junction (NMJ) morphology using a-Bungarotoxin stain from a tibialis anterior muscle sample collected from the fatigue mouse model. Our assessment observed that irradiation did not significantly reduce the performance of the mouse model on the rotarod test, suggesting that the fatigued mice do not have abnormal motor function. Similarly, NMJ morphology was similar for both control and irradiated mice. These results suggest that the fatigue behavior in our irradiation-induced mouse model is not caused by changes in motor function or NMJ deficits.

Scientific Focus Area: Systems Biology

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