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Non-invasive Imaging of Muscle Structure in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Using Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography (MSOT_DMD)

U

University of Erlangen-Nürnberg Medical School

Status

Completed

Conditions

Muscular Dystrophies
Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Treatments

Device: Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT03490214
67_18 B

Details and patient eligibility

About

This pilot study aims to assess subcellular muscle structure in patients with Duchenne X-linked progressive Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in comparison to healthy volunteers using multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT). During MSOT, a transducer is placed on the skin similar to a conventional sonography and instead of sound, energy is supplied to the tissue by means of light flashes. This leads to a constant change of minimal expansions and contractions (thermoelastic expansion) of individual tissue constituents or molecules. The resulting sound waves can then be detected by the same examination unit.

Full description

Duchenne X-linked progressive Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is one of the most common progressive childhood muscle diseases with an incidence of 1 in 3500 male newborns and is associated primarily with decreased life expectancy. From the age of 4-5 years manifest motor problems in everyday life, typical signs of proximal muscle weakness, with lab-chemical increase of the muscle enzyme (creatinine kinase, CK). Within a few years, relevant muscle and tendon shortening leading to joint malpositions and instability, as well as scoliosis and loss of walking around the age of 10 are formed. Supportive therapies can not curatively affect complications and progression of the disease. Pathogenetically, there is a deficiency of dystrophin, a structural protein of the sarcolemma, which is caused by mutations (usually deletions) of the dystrophin gene (Xp21.3-p21.2). The result of dystrophin deficiency is a necrosis of muscle cells that are replaced by connective tissue and adipose tissue. Clinical scores (6-minute walk test, 6MWT) and MRI studies to characterize the degenerative changes of skeletal muscle in the early stages are available for the quantitative assessment of the disease progression as well as therapy effects, the significance of which is controversially discussed. However, the highly sensitive assessment of gene therapy effects (e.g., PTC 124) will become increasingly important in the future. Sensitive, non-invasive methods for the detection of early muscle degeneration and muscle function in the course are of great clinical and scientific importance. The purpose of this first pilot study is to investigate whether the differences in skeletal muscle composition of healthy volunteers and ambulatory patients with early stage DMD can be quantified and characterized using multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT). This could in the future generate a completely new, non-invasive method to develop non-invasive biomarkers of disease progression or therapy response.

Enrollment

20 patients

Sex

Male

Ages

3 to 10 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

DMD-Patients

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Histologic or genetically proven DMD
  • Age 3-10 years

Exclusion Criteria:

Healthy controls

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male
  • Age 3-10 years

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Suspected muscular disease/myopathia
  • missing informed consent

Trial design

Primary purpose

Diagnostic

Allocation

Non-Randomized

Interventional model

Parallel Assignment

Masking

None (Open label)

20 participants in 2 patient groups

Muscular Dystrophia
Experimental group
Description:
Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography (MSOT) of muscles (left and right, total 8 sites) leg proximal: Musculus quadriceps, distal: Musculus triceps surae arm proximal: Musculus biceps, distal: Musculus brachioradialis
Treatment:
Device: Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography
Healthy Volunteer
Active Comparator group
Description:
Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography (MSOT) of muscles (left and right, total 8 sites) leg proximal: Musculus quadriceps, distal: Musculus triceps surae arm proximal: Musculus biceps, distal: Musculus brachioradialis
Treatment:
Device: Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography

Trial contacts and locations

1

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Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov

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