Abstract
Study design:
Cross-sectional and longitudinal design.
Objectives:
(1) To quantify skeletal muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) after correcting for intramuscular fat (IMF) in thigh muscle groups 6 weeks after incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI), (2) to monitor the changes in muscle CSA and IMF after 3 months from the initial measurement.
Setting:
Academic institution Athens, GA, USA.
Methods:
Six incomplete SCI patients (28±4 years, 178±5 cm and 78±6 kg, mean±SE, C7 to L3, American Spinal Injury Association B or C) were tested at 5±1 weeks and 3 months after the initial measurement. T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were taken of both thighs. Six able-bodied (AB) controls were matched in age, sex, height and weight (29±4 years, four male and two female subjets, 179±5 cm and 77±6 kg).
Results:
At 6 weeks post-injury, muscle CSA was 82±4 cm2 in incomplete SCI and 123±21 cm2 in AB controls (P=0.04). IMF CSA was 5.2±1.3 and 2.3±0.6 cm2 in incomplete SCI and AB controls, respectively (P=0.03). Relative IMF was three-fold higher (P=0.03) in the SCI group versus AB controls (5.8±1.4 versus 2.0±0.6%). After 3 months, IMF increased 26% in the SCI group compared to the initial measurement (P=0.02).
Conclusions:
Skeletal muscle atrophy is associated with greater IMF accumulation in SCI group 6 weeks post-injury compared to AB controls. Moreover, IMF continues to increase over time in incomplete SCI.
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Acknowledgements
We thank all the participants. This study was supported by NIH grants HD37439-S (GAD) and HD39676 (GAD). We thank Dr Ronald Meyer for providing the software that was used to analyze the images for this study. Also, we acknowledge Drs Chris Feak and Jeff Horowitiz for their valuable comments during the preparation of the manuscript. Ashraf S Gorgey is currently supported by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) Grant #H133P03004.
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Gorgey, A., Dudley, G. Skeletal muscle atrophy and increased intramuscular fat after incomplete spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord 45, 304–309 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.sc.3101968
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