Quantitative measurement of muscle strength in the mouse.

We have designed a special dynamometer for measuring mouse forelimb muscle strength and endurance. The device exploits a mouse's tendency to grasp a horizontal metal bar while suspended by its tail. A threshold value for the magnitude and duration of force that the mouse can exert is obtained by first allowing the animal to grasp the bar and then applying a steadily increasing downward force to the opposite end of a cable to which the mouse attaches. The bar is attached to a force transducer and pen recorder to produce a permanent record of the force produced by the mouse. Test results show that this dynamometer provides quantitative measurements of muscle strength and endurance in the mouse. Comparisons between experimental groups of normal and wobbler mice, a model for lower motor neuron disease, show that both the force exerted by the animals (muscle strength), and the duration of the pull (endurance), can be quantified and statistically analyzed. This technique can be used as an assay for quantitating the effects of in vivo drug treatments on murine neuromuscular disorders.