Quantitative muscle ultrasound (QMUS) is a useful noninvasive tool for the monitoring of disease progression in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), according to a study recently published in Muscle & Nerve.
Recent therapeutic advancements in DMD mean that the ability to monitor disease evolution across all stages is now more important than ever. But some tools used to measure disease progression become unusable as the disease advances, such as the 6-minute walk assessment.
QMUS is a promising tool to measure disease progression because it is noninvasive, meaning that it does not cause any injury to the patient’s body. Studies also suggest that it can provide a comprehensive amount of data regarding a patient’s clinical condition.
Investigators reported on a study that sought to investigate functional capacity changes among patients with DMD. Specifically, QMUS was used to obtain images from various muscle groups that were most likely to be affected in DMD. In addition, researchers used various assessments involving walking, climbing and muscle movement to study functional status.
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A total of 23 patients were involved in this study. The results of various functional assessments indicated that, overall, patients had better preserved upper limb function compared with ambulation, which is the ability to move around independently. QMUS was performed on a total of 230 muscles among these 23 patients. Each ultrasound scan lasted approximately 20 to 30 minutes. The mean grayscale value (MGV) was used to depict the intensity of the pixels of the images.
Researchers found that both the MGV of the legs and arms had significant correlation with the results of five functional tests. This means that QMUS can be reliably used to predict the likely outcomes of functional capacity assessments without the need to carry them out. For example, higher MGV values negatively correlated with the 6-minute walk test, indicating that QMUS can be used to predict the likely ambulatory capacity of a patient with DMD.
“In conclusion, this study identified QMUS as a promising imaging biomarker for DMD, offering insights into structural muscle changes and functional status,” the research team wrote.
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