MRI is More Sensitive in Spotting Progression of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy

In the clinical study, 35 patients suffering from FSHD were enrolled. At the beginning of research, their thigh muscles were studied using MRI along with traditional measures (MMT, CSS, MFM). The functionality of muscles as per these scales and MRI scan results corresponded to each other.

In this study carried out in France for the period of 2 years, patients were scanned with MRI and new index called mean pixel intensity (MPI) was used to quantify the fat content in the muscles. With higher MPI indicating higher fat content, there is a higher level of dystrophy.