A critical review of functional assessment tools for upper limbs in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
The recent development of therapeutic approaches for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) has highlighted the need to identify clinical outcome measures for planned efficacy studies. Although several studies have reported the value of functional scales, timed tests, and measures of endurance aimed at ambulant individuals, less has been done to identify reliable measures of function in individuals who have lost ambulation. The aim of this paper is to provide a critical review of the existing literature on functional measures assessing upper extremity function in DMD. Four observer-rated, performance-based measures and four self-reported scales have been previously used in DMD. Each scale provides useful information but none reflects all the different levels of functional ability in activities of daily living observed in individuals with DMD at different ages.
Department of Paediatric Neurology, Catholic University, Rome, Italy. eumercuri@gmail.com
Elena S
ES
Mazzone
Gessica
G
Vasco
Concetta
C
Palermo
Flaviana
F
Bianco
Carmen
C
Galluccio
Valeria
V
Ricotti
Antonella D
AD
Castronovo
Maria Sole D I
MS
Mauro
Marika
M
Pane
Anna
A
Mayhew
Eugenio
E
Mercuri
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification*; D002648:Child; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D020388:Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results