title: Musculoskeletal simulation can help explain selective muscle degeneration in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
abstract: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disease that occurs due to the deficiency of the dystrophin protein. Although dystrophin is deficient in all muscles, it is unclear why degeneration progresses differently across muscles in DMD. We hypothesized that each muscle undergoes a different degree of eccentric contraction during gait, which could contribute to the selective degeneration in lower limb muscle, as indicated by various amounts of fatty infiltration. By comparing eccentric contractions quantified from a previous multibody dynamic musculoskeletal gait simulation and fat fractions quantified in a recent imaging study, our preliminary analyses show a strong correlation between eccentric contractions during gait and lower limb muscle fat fractions, supporting our hypothesis. This knowledge is critical for developing safe exercise regimens for the DMD population. This study also provides supportive evidence for using multiscale modeling and simulation of the musculoskeletal system in future DMD research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, 415 Lane Road, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, 22908.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, 415 Lane Road, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, 22908.|Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: Silvia S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Blemker
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D020388:Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD); eccentric contraction; muscle degeneration; musculoskeletal modeling and simulation; quantitative MRI