ReviewMechanisms of ageing and development2021
Molecular and neural adaptations to neuromuscular electrical stimulation; Implications for ageing muscle.
Review in Mechanisms of ageing and development, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on hospitalised adults: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Age and ageing · 2023Pooled it
- Feasibility within-subject RCT of neuromuscular electrical stimulation; an Intervention to Maintain and improve neuroMuscular function during period of Immobility (IMMI).European geriatric medicine · 2025Trial
- Effects of external neuromuscular electrical stimulation in women with urgency urinary incontinence: a randomized sham-controlled study.World journal of urology · 2024Trial
- Post-operative electrical muscle stimulation attenuates loss of muscle mass and function following major abdominal surgery in older adults: a split body randomised control trial.Age and ageing · 2022Trial
- Theoretical and Scientific Underpinnings of Peripheral Muscle Electrostimulation in Cardiac Rehabilitation of the Elderly: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Effects of whole-body electromyostimulation as a time-efficient intervention on myokine profile and muscular performance in overweight adults: a randomized controlled study.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Episodic denervation as a driver of loss of skeletal muscle redox homeostasis and muscle weakness in sarcopenia: Possible amelioration by exercise.Sports medicine and health science · 2025Review
- Atrophy Masseter Recovery by Electrical Stimulation Mediated M2-Like Macrophage Polarisation via JAK/PI3K/AKT Pathway.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2025Article
- Article
- Acute modulation of common synaptic inputs and motor unit discharge rates following neuromuscular electrical stimulation superimposed onto voluntary contractions.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Estimation of elbow flexion torque using equilibrium optimizer on feature selection of NMES MMG signals and hyperparameter tuning of random forest regression.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2025Article
- Early Mobilization in Post-Orthopedic Surgery Patients: A Scoping Review.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Review
- Influence of stimulation frequency on brain-derived neurotrophic factor and cathepsin-B production in healthy young adults.Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology · 2024Article
- Skeletal muscle dysfunction with advancing age.Clinical science (London, England : 1979) · 2024Review
- Attenuation of skeletal muscle atrophy via acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, and electrical stimulation.Integrative medicine research · 2023Article
- Cellular senescence: is the problem a solution for muscle repair?Cellular & molecular immunology · 2023Article
- Motor point heatmap of the calf.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2023Article
- NMES superimposed on movement is equally effective as heavy slow resistance training in patellar tendinopathy.Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions · 2022Article
- Muscular contraction's therapeutic potential for cancer-induced wasting.American journal of physiology. Cell physiology · 2022Review
- Ageing and exercise-induced motor unit remodelling.The Journal of physiology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
One of the most notable effects of ageing is an accelerated decline of skeletal muscle mass and function, resulting in various undesirable outcomes such as falls, frailty, and all-cause mortality. The loss of muscle mass directly leads to functional deficits and can be explained by the combined effects of individual fibre atrophy and fibre loss. The gradual degradation of fibre atrophy is attributed to impaired muscle protein homeostasis, while muscle fibre loss is a result of denervation and motor unit (MU) remodelling. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), a substitute for voluntary contractions, has been applied to reduce muscle mass and functional declines. However, the measurement of the effectiveness of NMES in terms of its mechanism of action on the peripheral motor nervous system and neuromuscular junction, and multiple molecular adaptations at the single fibre level is not well described. NMES mediates neuroplasticity and upregulates a number of neurotropic factors, manifested by increased axonal sprouting and newly formed neuromuscular junctions. Repeated involuntary contractions increase the activity levels of oxidative enzymes, increase fibre capillarisation and can influence fibre type conversion. Additionally, following NMES muscle protein synthesis is increased as well as functional capacity. This review will detail the neural, molecular, metabolic and functional adaptations to NMES in human and animal studies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.