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Behavioral and Locomotor Measurements Using an Open Field Activity Monitoring System for Skeletal Muscle Diseases
Published on: September 29, 2014
Multimodal characterisation of skeletal muscle properties in children with and without cerebral palsy using a
Charlotte Lambrechts1, Tijl Dewit1,2, Ronald Peeters3,4
1Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Insights
This study investigates gastrocnemius muscle changes in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP). It comprehensively assesses muscle size, composition, and stiffness, comparing them to typically developing (TD) children.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Pediatric Orthopedics
- Rehabilitation Science
Background:
- Children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) experience altered muscle properties due to neural control and mechanical loading.
- Existing research often studies muscle morphology, composition, and passive stiffness in isolation.
- The interactions between muscle morphology, composition, and passive stiffness in pediatric CP remain underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively characterize gastrocnemius muscle properties in children with spastic CP.
- To compare these properties with age-matched typically developing (TD) children.
- To investigate the relationships among muscle morphology, composition, and passive stiffness in pediatric CP.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a multimodal approach including 3D ultrasound for muscle size, quantitative MRI for composition, and shear wave elastography for passive stiffness.
- Assessing isometric and functional plantar flexion strength via handheld dynamometry and functional assessments.
- Systematically comparing data from children with CP to TD peers across different age groups.
Main Results:
- This section is not available in the provided abstract.
Conclusions:
- This integrated approach will provide a detailed multimodal characterization of age-related alterations in the gastrocnemius muscle in children with CP.
- Understanding these muscle property interactions is crucial for developing targeted interventions for pediatric CP.
- The findings will contribute to a deeper understanding of muscle pathophysiology in CP.
Introduction:
Children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) often exhibit significant changes in their skeletal muscles due to altered neural control and atypical mechanical loading. While muscle morphology, in particular muscle size, has been extensively studied, other important properties, such as passive stiffness and muscle composition, remain poorly characterised. Previous studies have typically examined these features in isolation, leaving the interactions among morphology, composition and passive stiffness largely unexplored. This protocol addresses these gaps by providing a comprehensive, multimodal assessment of gastrocnemius muscle properties within a single cohort, which will be systematically compared with control data from typically developing (TD) children.
Methods And Analysis:
This protocol outlines a study to characterise gastrocnemius muscle properties in children with spastic CP and TD peers across different age groups. Muscle size will be measured using three-dimensional freehand ultrasound, composition using quantitative MRI and passive muscle tissue stiffness using shear wave elastography. Additionally, isometric and functional plantar flexion strength will be evaluated through handheld dynamometry and functional strength assessments, respectively. Differences in muscle characteristics between CP and TD children will be assessed, and the relationships among muscle properties will be examined. Exploratory analyses will also evaluate potential associations with isometric and functional plantar flexor strength. This integrated approach will provide a detailed multimodal characterisation of age-related alterations in the gastrocnemius muscle in children with CP.
Trial Registration Number:
NCT06991725.
