Skeletal muscle stiffness as measured by magnetic resonance elastography after chronic spinal cord injury:a cross-sectional pilot study  

作　　者：Mina P.Ghatas M.Rehan Khan Ashraf S.Gorgey 

机构地区：[1]Department of Spinal Cord Injury and Disorders,Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center,Richmond,VA,USA [2]Department of Radiology,Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center,Richmond,VA,USA [3]Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,Virginia Commonwealth University,Richmond,VA,USA

出　　处：《Neural Regeneration Research》2021年第12期2486-2493,共8页中国神经再生研究（英文版）

摘　　要：Skeletal muscle stiffness is altered after spinal cord injury(SCI).Assessing muscle stiffness is essential for rehabilitation and pharmaceutical interventions design after SCI.The study used magnetic resonance elastography to assess the changes in stiffness after chronic SCI compared to matched able-bodied controls and determine its association with muscle size,spasticity,and peak torque in persons with SCI.Previous studies examined the association between muscle stiffness and spasticity,however,we are unaware of other studies that examined the effects of muscle composition on stiffness after SCI.Ten participants(one female)with chronic SCI and eight(one female)matched able-bodied controls participated in this cross-sectional study.Magnetic resonance elastography was utilized to monitor stiffness derived from shear waves propagation.Modified Ashworth scale was used to evaluate spasticity scores in a blinded fashion.Peak isometric and isokinetic torques were measured using a biodex dynamometer.Stiffness values were non-significantly lower(12.5%;P=0.3)in the SCI group compared to able-bodied controls.Moreover,stiffness was positively related to vastus lateralis whole muscle cross-sectional area(CSA)(r2=0.64,P<0.005)and vastus lateralis absolute muscle CSA after accounting for intramuscular fat(r2=0.78,P<0.0007).Stiffness was also positively correlated to both isometric(r2=0.55-0.57,P<0.05)and isokinetic peak(r2=0.46-0.48,P<0.05)torques.Our results suggest that larger clinical trial is warranted to confirm the preliminary findings that muscle stiffness is altered after SCI compared to healthy controls.Stiffness appeared to be influenced by infiltration of intramuscular fat and modestly by the spasticity of the paralyzed muscles.The preliminary data indicated that the relationship between muscle stiffness and peak torque is not altered with changing the frequency of pulses or angular velocities.All study procedures were approved by the Institutional Review Board at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center,USA(IRB#

关 键 词：chronic spinal cord injury isometric and isokinetic torques magnetic resonance elastography muscle size rehabilitation shear modulus SPASTICITY STIFFNESS 

分 类 号：R445[医药卫生—影像医学与核医学] R364[医药卫生—诊断学]