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Muscle diseases in elders: a 10-year retrospective study
Montserrat Laguno1, Oscar Miró, Milagrosa Perea
1Muscle Research Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Summary
Muscle diseases are common in older adults, and muscle biopsy is a safe diagnostic tool. This study found specific myopathies in 36% of elderly patients, often leading to treatable outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Geriatrics
- Pathology
Background:
- Muscle complaints are prevalent in older adults, yet histological data are limited.
- Understanding muscle disease patterns in the elderly is crucial for diagnosis and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify major categories of muscle diseases in the elderly population using histological analysis.
- To assess the diagnostic utility of muscle biopsy in older patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of muscle biopsies from patients over 65 years old (n=239) and a younger control group (n=239) over a 10-year period.
- Collection and analysis of demographic, clinical, and histological data, including pre- and post-biopsy diagnosis concordance.
Main Results:
- Elderly patients showed increased type II fiber atrophy and a higher incidence of specific myopathies (36%) compared to controls.
- Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies and vasculitis were the most frequent diagnoses in the elderly group.
- Muscle biopsy revealed unsuspected diagnoses in approximately 25% of elderly patients, enabling specific therapeutic interventions in 25% of cases.
Conclusions:
- Muscle diseases are not uncommon in the elderly population.
- Muscle biopsy is a safe and valuable diagnostic method for identifying treatable muscle diseases in older adults.
- Failure to perform muscle biopsy may lead to underdiagnosis or misdiagnosis of potentially treatable conditions.