title: Quantitative muscle ultrasound and muscle force in healthy children: a 4-year follow-up study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  No longitudinal data on the normal development of muscle thickness (MT), quantitative muscle ultrasound echo intensity (EI), and muscle force (MF) in healthy children are yet available.
  
  
  METHODS
  Reference values of MT, EI, and MF of 4 muscles from infancy to age 16 years were established during a 4-year follow-up period and correlated with age and growth.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For most muscles, MT and MF correlated with growth and aging, with almost equal influences of weight and height. EI increased only slightly (1% per year) with height, weight, and age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To use these reference values for repeated measurements, MF and MT can be corrected for either weight or height. It does not seem necessary to correct EI for these factors during follow-up of a few years. These results provide a basis for more precise detection of changes in muscle structure or force in neuromuscular disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology (920), Donders Centre of Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, P.O. Box 9101, 6500HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Joost
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: Merel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.forename: Henny
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.forename: Wilma
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Raijmann
authors.forename: Nens
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Van Alfen
authors.forename: Sigrid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pillen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D024510:Muscle Development / Q000502:physiology*; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D014463:Ultrasonography