<p>Association between metabolic syndrome and limb muscle quantity and quality in older adults: a pilot ultrasound study</p>

Abstract

Purpose: Limited imaging studies have investigated whether limb muscle quantity and quality change after metabolic syndrome (MetS) development. This pilot study examined MetS influence on limb muscle characteristics in older adults. Methods: Participants were recruited from annual health examinations; their right biceps brachii, triceps brachii, rectus femoris, and gastrocnemius muscles were measured by ultrasound. Anthropometric parameters, blood biochemistry, and physical performance (handgrip strength and gait speed) were also examined. Results: Overall, 129 participants were enrolled, including 26 with MetS. Although handgrip strength was lower in MetS patients, there were no significant between-group differences considering thickness and mean echogenicity of the four muscles. Handgrip strength was positively correlated with the thickness of biceps brachii, triceps brachii, and rectus femoris but was negatively associated with their echogenicity. On multivariate analysis, triceps muscle echogenicity was trivially associated (odds ratio, 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.86-0.99) with MetS, possibly due to multicollinearity with grip strength. Conclusion: No significant difference was recognized in limb muscle thickness and echogenicity in the geriatric population with MetS compared with healthy controls by ultrasound imaging. However, the finding might be caused by the small sample size of our participants. Future largescale studies should explore the influence of separated risk factors of MetS on limb muscle echotexture and examine whether manifestation differs in different age populations.

Ultrasound Imaging Is Reliable for Tibialis Posterior Size Measurements

“…[11][12][13] Ultrasound has a growing place in musculoskeletal rehabilitation. It has been used to evaluate the morphologic characteristics of muscles (thickness, CSA, and volume) [14][15][16][17] and tendons, 18 assess muscle activation, 19 measure rehabilitation or exercise intervention outcomes, [20][21][22] dynamically evaluate pathologic conditions, 13,23 and provide biofeedback. 23,24 Although the TP is an important muscle functionally, its muscle size is typically not assessed in US studies.…”

Masticatory Muscles Activity in Sport Climbers

“…The present study has a limitation. Nowadays, ultrasound has been widely used in the evaluation of muscle quality and quantity, including the masticatory muscles [30,31]. However, this study did not employ this imaging tool for the evaluation of muscle quality.…”

MiRNAs, Myostatin, and Muscle MRI Imaging as Biomarkers of Clinical Features in Becker Muscular Dystrophy

“…It is possible that such follistatin gene therapy combined with long-term deflazacort regime could be used in the future to treat the symptoms and maintain muscle strength in BMD patients. In future studies, sonography could be also utilized as alternative to muscle MRI, to evaluate quality of muscle mass since this technique is a cost-effective tool recently developed for evaluation of metabolic syndrome and adults dynapenia [47,48]. We propose that circulating miRNAs and myostatin could be used as a noninvasive prognostic biomarkers to monitor the progression and the treatment of the disease.…”