부산대학교 도서관

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nmd.2007.11.004 Byline: Fabiana Luisa Mattar, Claudia Sobreira Keywords: Duchenne muscular dystrophy; Muscular dystrophy; Hand strength; Dynamometry Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the age of hand involvement in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), since various types of hand dynamometry have been applied to evaluate patients in clinical trials. We studied 40 patients with DMD from our university hospital clinic and 80 healthy, age-matched controls. Hand strength was evaluated by handgrip and pinch dynamometries, and by manual testing. Physical disability was measured with a functional scale. Hand weakness was present since early stages in patients with DMD. However, hand strength tended to increase with age in the first decade, although never reaching the control values. Decrease of strength occurred later. Handgrip and pinch dynamometry values were significantly correlated with global hand strength, which were inversely correlated with functional capacity only in the group older than 10years. Hand dynamometry should be applied with caution as an outcome measure in therapeutical trials in young patients with DMD. Author Affiliation: Department of Neurology, Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo University, Brazil Article History: Received 9 June 2007; Revised 1 October 2007; Accepted 15 November 2007