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De Beukelaer N, Vandekerckhove I, Molenberghs G, Naulaers G, Thewissen L, Costamagna D, Van Campenhout A, Desloovere K, Ortibus E. Longitudinal trajectory of medial gastrocnemius muscle growth in the first years of life. Dev Med Child Neurol 2024; 66:531-540. [PMID: 37786988 DOI: 10.1111/dmcn.15763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
AIM To define the longitudinal trajectory of gastrocnemius muscle growth in 6- to 36-month-old children with and without spastic cerebral palsy (SCP) and to compare trajectories by levels of gross motor function (Gross Motor Function Classification System, GMFCS) and presumed brain-lesion timing. METHOD Twenty typically developing children and 24 children with SCP (GMFCS levels I-II/III-IV = 15/9), were included (28/16 females/males; mean age at first scan 15.4 months [standard deviation 4.93, range 6.24-23.8]). Three-dimensional freehand ultrasound was used to repeatedly assess muscle volume, length, and cross-sectional area (CSA), resulting in 138 assessments (mean interval 7.9 months). Brain lesion timing was evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging classification. Linear mixed-effects models defined growth rates, adjusted for GMFCS levels and presumed brain-lesion timing. RESULTS At age 12 months, children with SCP showed smaller morphological muscle size than typically developing children (5.8 mL vs 9.8 mL, p < 0.001), while subsequently no differences in muscle growth were found between children with and without SCP (muscle volume: 0.65 mL/month vs 0.74 mL/month). However, muscle volume and CSA growth rates were lower in children classified in GMFCS levels III and IV than typically developing children and those classified in GMFCS levels I and II, with differences ranging from -56% to -70% (p < 0.001). INTERPRETATION Muscle growth is already hampered during infancy in SCP. Muscle size growth further reduces with decreasing functional levels, independently from the brain lesion. Early monitoring of muscle growth combined with early intervention is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie De Beukelaer
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Kinesiology Laboratory, Geneva University Hospitals and Geneva University, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Geert Molenberghs
- Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics (I-BIOSTAT), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics (I-BIOSTAT), Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium
| | - Gunnar Naulaers
- Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Liesbeth Thewissen
- Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Domiziana Costamagna
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Anja Van Campenhout
- Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Orthopedics, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Clinical Motion Analysis Laboratory, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Kaat Desloovere
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Clinical Motion Analysis Laboratory, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Els Ortibus
- Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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