Longitudinal trajectories of muscle impairments in growing boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Insights into the progression of muscle impairments in growing boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) remain incomplete due to the frequent oversight of normal maturation as a confounding factor, thereby restricting the delineation of sole pathological processes.

Objective

To establish longitudinal trajectories for a comprehensive integrated set of muscle impairments, including muscle weakness, contractures and muscle size alterations, while correcting for normal maturation, in DMD.

Methods

Thirty-three boys with DMD (aged 4.3-17 years) were included. Fixed dynamometry, goniometry, and 3D freehand ultrasound were used to repeatedly assess lower limb muscle strength, passive range of motion (ROM) and muscle size, resulting in 161, 178 and 64 assessments

SUBMITTER: Vandekerckhove I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11918350 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature