Non-Invasive Biomarkers of Musculoskeletal Health with High Discriminant Ability for Age and Gender

Abstract

A novel approach to ageing studies assessed the discriminatory ability of a combination of routine physical function tests and novel measures, notably muscle mechanical properties and thigh composition (ultrasound imaging) to classify healthy individuals according to age and gender. The cross-sectional study included 138 community-dwelling, self-reported healthy males and females (65 young, mean age ± SD = 25.7 ± 4.8 years; 73 older, 74.9 ± 5.9 years). Handgrip strength; quadriceps strength; respiratory peak flow; timed up and go; stair climbing time; anterior thigh tissue thickness; muscle stiffness, tone, elasticity (Myoton technology), and self-reported health related quality of life (SF36) were assessed. Stepwise feature selection using cross-validation with linear discriminant analysis was used to classify cases based on criterion variable derived from known effects of age on physical function. A model was trained and features selected using 126 cases with 0.92 accuracy (95% CI = 0.86–0.96; Kappa = 0.89). The final model included five features (peak flow, timed up and go, biceps brachii elasticity, anterior thigh muscle thickness, and percentage thigh muscle) with high sensitivity (0.82–0.96) and specificity (0.94–0.99). The most sensitive novel biomarkers require no volition, highlighting potentially useful tests for screening and monitoring effects of interventions on musculoskeletal health for vulnerable older people with pain or cognitive impairment.

Paravertebral Muscle Mechanical Properties in Patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis or Low Back Pain: A Case-Control Study

“…Our results for the axSpA group are consistent with recent research that found that higher lumbar and cervical tone, stiffness and decrement, and lower relaxation and creep for axSpA patients compared to healthy controls [45] is possibly due to increased spinal stiffness associated with axSpA [17,19,43]. Furthermore, the lumbar tone, stiffness, and decrement of the current sLBP and healthy groups were similar to those reported in subjects with chronic LBP and healthy subjects, respectively [54]. On the contrary, our results showed higher tone and stiffness and lower relaxation and creep than those reported in other younger axSpA and healthy samples [17,53], probably due to the changes of the MMPs associated with age [44].…”

“…One of the strengths of this study was the evaluation of cervical MMPs in patients with a main alteration at the lumbar level, as previously suggested [54]. On the other hand, it is necessary to emphasize the clinical applicability of this research.…”

“…The mechanical impulses exerted by the probe, with a pulse of 15 ms and 0.40 N of mechanical force, allowed us to record the tissue response. The MMPs are expressed as follows: muscle tension or tone in resting state (Hz), defined by frequency; stiffness (N/m), which reflects the ability of the muscle to resist contraction or external force that deforms its initial shape; logarithmic decrement in the amplitude of oscillation, which has no unit (Ø), and describes the ability of the tissue to restore its shape after deformation, characterizing the inverse of the elasticity (the lower the decrement value, the greater elasticity [53,54]); the relaxation time of stress (ms), which is the recovery time for the muscle to return to its normal state after deformation; and the Creep (Deborah Number), which is the property of progressive deformation while applying constant stress, which reflects the viscosity of the tissue [43].…”

Absolute and Relative Reliability of the Assessment of the Muscle Mechanical Properties of Pelvic Floor Muscles in Women with and without Urinary Incontinence

“…The description of the MMPs collected by the MyotonPRO is reported elsewhere [ 38 ], and can be summarized as: frequency, characterizing muscle tension or tone in resting state (Hz); biomechanical properties, such as stiffness (N/m) and logarithmic decrement in the amplitude of oscillation (Ø), characterizing the inverse of the elasticity [ 39 , 40 ]; and viscoelastic properties, such as relaxation time of stress (ms), and creep (Deborah Number -De-) [ 41 ].…”

Viscoelasticity Acts as a Marker for Tumor Extracellular Matrix Characteristics

“… Yang et al, 2019 ). Therefore, certain viscoelastic characteristics can turn out to become a reliable and useful physical biomarker for diseases, such as cancer or others, and age-specific changes ( Agyapong-Badu et al, 2021 ; Efremov et al, 2020 ; K.; Park et al, 2019 ). All of which can be impacted by the viscoelastic characteristics of the tumor extracellular matrix scaffold or age-associated changes of the extracellular matrix scaffold.…”