OBJECTIVESBecause X-linked myotubular myopathy (XLMTM) is a rare neuromuscular disease caused by mutations in the MTM1 gene with a large phenotypic heterogeneity, to ensure clinical trial readiness, ...it was mandatory to better quantify disease burden and determine best outcome measures.
METHODSWe designed an international prospective and longitudinal natural history study in patients with XLMTM and assessed muscle strength and motor and respiratory functions over the first year of follow-up. The humoral immunity against adeno-associated virus serotype 8 was also monitored.
RESULTSForty-five male patients aged 3.5 months to 56.8 years were enrolled between May 2014 and May 2017. Thirteen patients had a mild phenotype (no ventilation support), 7 had an intermediate phenotype (ventilation support less than 12 hours a day), and 25 had a severe phenotype (ventilation support 12 or more hours a day). Most strength and motor function assessments could be performed even in very weak patients. Motor Function Measure 32 total score, grip and pinch strengths, and forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in the first second of exhalation, and peak cough flow measures discriminated the 3 groups of patients. Disease history revealed motor milestone loss in several patients. Longitudinal data on 37 patients showed that the Motor Function Measure 32 total score significantly decreased by 2%. Of the 38 patients evaluated, anti–adeno-associated virus type 8 neutralizing activity was detected in 26% with 2 patients having an inhibitory titer >1:10.
CONCLUSIONSOur data confirm that XLMTM is slowly progressive for male survivors regardless of their phenotype and provide outcome validation and natural history data that can support clinical development in this population.
CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIERNCT02057705.
Introduction
Ambulatory individuals with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) experience muscle weakness, gait impairments, and fatigue that affect their walking ability. Improvements have been observed in ...motor function in children treated with nusinersen, but its impact on fatigue has not been studied.
Methods
Post hoc analyses were used to examine changes in 6‐minute walk test (6MWT) distance and fatigue in children and adolescents with SMA type II and III who received their first dose of nusinersen in the phase Ib/IIa, open‐label CS2 study and were ambulatory during CS2 or the extension study, CS12.
Results
Fourteen children performed the 6MWT. Median (25th, 75th percentile) distance walked increased over time by 98.0 (62.0, 135.0) meters at day 1050, whereas median fatigue changed by −3.8% (−19.7%, 1.4%).
Discussion
These results support previous studies demonstrating clinically meaningful effects of nusinersen on motor function in children and adolescents with later‐onset SMA.
Juvenile myasthenia gravis Chiang, Laura M.; Darras, Basil T.; Kang, Peter B.
Muscle & nerve,
April 2009, Letnik:
39, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Juvenile myasthenia gravis shares a similar pathophysiologic origin with adult myasthenia gravis, but there are important differences, mostly relating to epidemiology, presentation, and therapeutic ...decision making. Gender ratios and the proportion of seropositive patients differ in the pre‐ and postpubertal age groups. The diagnostic evaluation is similar to that in adults, although special techniques are sometimes necessary to perform single‐fiber electromyography in younger patients. Therapeutic decisions in affected children and adolescents are complicated by the greater long‐term consequences of using steroids, and thus other interventions, such as intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) and plasmapheresis, may play a greater therapeutic role in this population than in adults. Steroid‐sparing agents may contribute to the management of refractory cases, but they should be used with caution due to the risk of malignancy. Muscle Nerve, 2008
Objective
Sensitive, objective, and easily applied methods for evaluating disease progression and response to therapy are needed for clinical trials in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). In this ...study, we evaluated whether electrical impedance myography (EIM) could serve this purpose.
Methods
In this nonblinded study, 36 boys with DMD and 29 age‐similar healthy boys underwent multifrequency EIM measurements for up to 2 years on 6 muscles unilaterally along with functional assessments. A linear mixed‐effects model with random intercept and slope terms was used for the analysis of multifrequency EIM values and functional measures. Seven DMD boys were initiated on corticosteroids; these data were analyzed using a piecewise linear mixed‐effects model.
Results
In boys > 7.0 years old, a significant difference in the slope of EIM phase ratio trajectories in the upper extremity was observed by 6 months of −0.074/month, p = 0.023, 95% confidence interval (CI) = −0.013, −0.14; at 2 years, this difference was −0.048/month, p < 0.0001, 95% CI = −0.028, −0.068. In boys ≤ 7.0 years old, differences appeared at 6 months in gastrocnemius (EIM phase slope = −0.83 °/kHz/mo, p = 0.007, 95% CI = −0.26, −1.40). EIM outcomes showed significant differences earlier than functional tests. Initiation of corticosteroids significantly improved the slope of EIM phase ratio (0.057/mo, p = 0.00019, 95% CI = 0.028, 0.086) and EIM phase slope (0.14 °/kHz/mo, p = 0.013, 95% CI = 0.028, 0.25), consistent with corticosteroids' known clinical benefit.
Interpretation
EIM detects deterioration in muscles of both younger and older boys by 6 months; it also identifies the therapeutic effect of corticosteroid initiation. Because EIM is rapid to apply, painless, and requires minimal operator training, the technique deserves to be further evaluated as a biomarker in DMD clinical therapeutic trials. Ann Neurol 2017;81:622–632
Background:
The neuromuscular disorders encountered in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) encompass a broad spectrum of pathologies. These include acute disorders (eg, Guillain-Barre syndrome), ...acute-on-chronic disorders (eg, myasthenia gravis), progressive disorders (eg, muscular dystrophy), and disorders that develop in the PICU (eg, critical illness myopathy/polyneuropathy). Familiarity with the presenting features of these disorders is of paramount importance in facilitating timely diagnosis.
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective review of the medical records of patients admitted to the PICU or Intermediate Care Program (ICP) at a single tertiary children’s hospital from 2006 to 2017 with an acute or acute-on-chronic neuromuscular disorder. We did not include patients with a known progressive neuromuscular disorder or critical illness myopathy/polyneuropathy.
Results:
Twenty-four patients were admitted to the PICU/ICP with acute or acute-on-chronic neuromuscular disorders. Diagnosis and indication for ICU/ICP admission were Guillain-Barre syndrome (n = 6; respiratory failure: 3, respiratory monitoring: 2, autonomic instability: 1), myasthenia gravis (n = 5; airway clearance: 3, respiratory failure: 2), acute flaccid myelitis (n = 3; respiratory failure: 2, respiratory monitoring: 1), periodic paralysis (n = 3; intravenous potassium replacement), rhabdomyolysis (n = 3; monitoring for electrolyte derangements), infant botulism (n = 2; respiratory failure), chronic demyelinating polyneuropathy (n = 1; respiratory failure), and congenital myasthenic syndrome (n = 1; apnea). No patients were admitted to the PICU/ICP with a diagnosis of tick paralysis, acute intermittent porphyria, or inflammatory myopathy.
Conclusions:
Although acute and acute-on-chronic neuromuscular disorders are encountered relatively rarely in the PICU, familiarity with the presenting features of these disorders is important in facilitating timely diagnosis. This, in turn, enables the institution of effective management strategies, thereby avoiding complications associated with diagnostic delays.
To characterize the natural history of spinal muscular atrophy type 2 and type 3 (SMA 2/3) beyond 1 year and to report data on clinical and biological outcomes for use in trial planning.
We conducted ...a prospective observational cohort study of 79 children and young adults with SMA 2/3 who participated in evaluations for up to 48 months. Clinically, we evaluated motor and pulmonary function, quality of life, and muscle strength. We also measured SMN2 copy number, hematologic and biochemical profiles, muscle mass by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and the compound motor action potential (CMAP) in a hand muscle. Data were analyzed for associations between clinical and biological/laboratory characteristics cross-sectionally, and for change over time in outcomes using all available data.
In cross-sectional analyses, certain biological measures (specifically, CMAP, DXA fat-free mass index, and SMN2 copy number) and muscle strength measures were associated with motor function. Motor and pulmonary function declined over time, particularly at time points beyond 12 months of follow-up.
The intermediate and mild phenotypes of SMA show slow functional declines when observation periods exceed 1 year. Whole body muscle mass, hand muscle compound motor action potentials, and muscle strength are associated with clinical measures of motor function. The data from this study will be useful for clinical trial planning and suggest that CMAP and DXA warrant further evaluation as potential biomarkers.
Highlights • The paper reports patterns of natural progression in type 1 SMA. • This is the first time the HINE is used to capture possible changes motor developmental milestones in a neuromuscular ...population. • Even with current standards of care, motor developmental milestones are rarely acquired, as part of natural history in type I SMA infants.
Purpose The aim of this study was to provide clinicians with an overview of literature relating to dysphagia in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) to guide assessment and treatment. Method In this ...clinical focus article, we review literature published in Scopus and PubMed between 1990 and 2020 pertaining to dysphagia in SMA across the life span. Original research articles that were published in English were included. Searches were conducted within four themes of inquiry: (a) etiology and phenotypes, (b) respiratory systemic deficits and management, (c) characteristics of natural history dysphagia and its treatment, and (d) dysphagia outcomes with disease-modifying therapies. Articles for the first two themes were selected by content experts who identified the most salient articles that would provide clinicians foundational background knowledge about SMA. Articles for the third theme were identified using search terms, including
OR
. Search terms for the fourth theme included
AND
OR
. Review of Pertinent Literature Twenty-nine articles were identified. Findings across identified articles support the fact that patients with SMA who do not receive disease-modifying therapy exhibit clinically significant deficits in oropharyngeal swallow function. Few investigations provided systematic information regarding the underlying physiological deficits responsible for this loss in function, the timing of the degradation, or how disease-modifying therapies change these outcomes. Conclusion Future research outlining the physiological and functional oropharyngeal swallowing deficits among patients with SMA who receive disease-modifying therapy is critical in developing standards of dysphagia care to guide clinicians.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
As the drug development pipeline for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) rapidly advances, clinical trial outcomes need to be optimized. Effective assessment of disease burden, natural history ...progression, and response to therapy in clinical trials for Duchenne muscular dystrophy are critical factors for clinical trial success. By choosing optimal biomarkers to better assess therapeutic efficacy, study costs and sample size requirements can be reduced. Currently, functional measures continue to serve as the primary outcome for the majority of DMD clinical trials. Quantitative measures of muscle health, including magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy, electrical impedance myography, and ultrasound, sensitively identify diseased muscle, disease progression, and response to a therapeutic intervention. Furthermore, such non-invasive techniques have the potential to identify disease pathology prior to onset of clinical symptoms. Despite robust supportive evidence, non-invasive quantitative techniques are still not frequently utilized in clinical trials for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Non-invasive quantitative techniques have demonstrated the ability to quantify disease progression and potential response to therapeutic intervention, and should be used as a supplement to current standard functional measures. Such methods have the potential to significantly accelerate the development and approval of therapies for DMD.
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