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Friday, October 20, 2017

Using MRI in Detecting and Assessing Slowly Progressing Conditions


Because of how it progresses, facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy or FSHD is among several disorders that are difficult to detect using current testing methods. This is likely due to the fact that severity, age of onset, and progression of this hereditary muscular disorder vary greatly. Some might notice symptoms in their teens, but studies show muscle weakness can start at infancy. Other people, on the other hand, only have mild FSHD that they don't notice its symptoms at all and are only diagnosed after a more affected family member has been diagnosed with FSHD.

People experience various symptoms depending on how mild or strong the disease is. Symptoms range from abdominal muscle weakness, mild hearing loss and abnormalities of the retina to facial weakness, hip weakness and shoulder weakness, among a host of other symptoms.
Detecting FSHD Progression

Standard testing methods prove insufficient in detecting the condition's progress, however, doctors have found a better way to detect this slowly progressing disease. Through magnetic resonance imaging or MRI, muscle changes can be seen and measured. For instance, through MRI, muscle loss and fat infiltration in thigh muscles have been observed are considered progression. Previously, using less sensitive testing methods, doctors failed to detect this type of muscle change.

How Patients Will Benefit

Doctors might find the use of MRI to be a better way to assess muscle changes, but it has yet to supplant current methods as the standard in measuring disease progression. MRI can also be used as a reliable and noninvasive method in assessing or measuring the possible effects of therapeutic interventions.

Sources:

MRI Spots Progression of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy Better Than Standard Methods, Study Reports, musculardystrophynews.com

Long-term follow-up of MRI changes in thigh muscles of patients with Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy: A quantitative study, journals.plos.org


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