Duchenne muscle activity evaluation and muscle function preservation: is it possible a prophylactic strategy?

Area of Science:

• Biomedical science
• Neuromuscular disorders
• Exercise physiology

Background:

• Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is characterized by progressive muscle wasting.
• Obesity is frequently observed in early-stage DMD, potentially due to metabolic changes and reduced activity.
• Current disease monitoring relies on scales, clinical significance, and data properties, but lacks exercise-specific guidance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the need for data supporting exercise prescription in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
• To emphasize the risk of inappropriate exercise exacerbating the dystrophic process.
• To recommend systematic analysis of muscle function for exercise load thresholds.

Main Methods:

• Review of current measures for monitoring Duchenne muscular dystrophy progression.
• Analysis of potential contributing factors to obesity in DMD.
• Proposal for systematic analysis of muscle function in dystrophic models and humans.

Main Results:

• Current monitoring methods for Duchenne muscular dystrophy progression have limitations regarding exercise.
• Obesity in DMD may stem from reduced physical activity, altered energy expenditure, and nutrient utilization.
• There is a critical lack of data for safe exercise prescription in DMD.

Conclusions:

• Systematic analysis of muscle function is recommended to determine safe exercise load thresholds.
• Such analysis should be conducted in dystrophic mice and dogs before human trials.
• Establishing exercise guidelines is crucial to attenuate muscle weakness without exacerbating the dystrophic process.