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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
Measurements of Motor Function and Other Clinical Outcome Parameters in Ambulant Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Published on: January 12, 2019
Quantitative Ultrasonographic Assessment of Muscle Structure and Correlations With Motor Function Scales in
Eren Aygun1, Burak Ugur Cetin1, Tugce Ozekli Misirlioglu1
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul.
Objective:
To investigate ultrasonographic muscle thickness (MT) and echointensity in children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) receiving nusinersen therapy by comparing these parameters with healthy controls and determining their relationship with motor function scale scores.
Design:
Cross-sectional case-control study.
Setting:
Tertiary university hospital.
Participants:
Thirty-four children with SMA (types 1-3) receiving disease-modifying therapy with nusinersen and 34 age- and sex-matched healthy controls.
Interventions:
N/A.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
MT of the biceps brachii/brachialis (BB/B), forearm flexors (FF), quadriceps femoris(QF), and tibialis anterior (TA) was measured using B-mode ultrasonography. Muscle echointensity was quantified using grayscale analysis in ImageJ software. Motor function was assessed using the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Infant Test of Neuromuscular Disorders (CHOP-INTEND), the Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale-Expanded (HFMSE), and the Revised Upper Limb Module (RULM).
Results:
Children with SMA demonstrated significantly reduced MT and increased echointensity across all examined muscles compared with controls (P<.05). TA echointensity showed strong negative correlations with CHOP-INTEND and HFMSE scores (r=-.781 and r=-.585, respectively; P<.001). In addition, moderate positive correlations were observed between RULM scores and the thickness of the BB/B and FF muscles (r=.412 and r=.425, respectively; P<.05).
Conclusions:
Ultrasonography enables objective evaluation of muscle structure in children with SMA receiving disease-modifying therapy, with MT and echointensity demonstrating significant associations with motor function. TA echointensity may represent a promising biomarker for disease monitoring.
