Muscles, Volume 3, Issue 2 (June 2024) – 3 articles

Fatty infiltration of the rotator cuff muscles is very common following rotator cuff tears and is one of the most important factors in determining treatment. Current clinical practice relies on subjective evaluation of fatty infiltration through categorical scoring based on the Goutallier classification system. The Dixon magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequence provides flexibility in selecting echo times for water–fat separation. The Dixon method, therefore, has the potential to provide robust and high-quality fat quantification that allows for more accurate calculation of fat fraction (%Fat) of the rotator cuff muscles than the Goutallier classification system. However, significant variance exists in sequencing and post-processing methodology within the recent application of Dixon sequences to quantify rotator cuff fatty infiltration. In this paper, we conducted a systematic review to synthesize the relevant literature utilizing Dixon sequencing for the quantification of rotator cuff fatty infiltration. The literature search was extracted from 1094 articles, with 12 studies included in the final review. Regardless of the varying sequencing pattern and post-processing techniques among studies, the findings suggest the Dixon method is reliable for quantitatively calculating the fat fraction of the rotator cuff muscles, even at very low levels of fatty infiltration. In addition, a quantitative difference in fat fraction was observed between participants with different degrees of tear vs. those without any shoulder pathologies. Multi-point Dixon imaging has the potential to be utilized clinically to objectively quantify fatty infiltration and may lead to improved clinical decision making for patients with rotator cuff tears. Full article

(1) Background: Sarcopenia, or low skeletal mass index (SMI), contributes to higher lung cancer mortality. The SMI at third lumbar vertebrae (L3) is the reference standard for body composition analysis. However, there is a need to explore the validity of alternative landmarks in this population. We compared the agreement of sarcopenia identification at the first lumbar (L1) and second lumbar (L2) to L3 in non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and White (NHW) individuals with lung cancer. (2) Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional study included 214 NHB and NHW adults with lung cancer. CT scans were analyzed to calculate the SMI at L1, L2, and L3. T-tests, chi-square, Pearson’s correlation, Cohen’s kappa, sensitivity, and specificity analysis were used. (3) Results: Subjects presented with a mean age of 68.4 ± 9.9 years and BMI of 26.3 ± 6.0 kg/m². Sarcopenia prevalence varied from 19.6% at L1 to 39.7% at L3. Cohen’s kappa coefficient was 0.46 for L1 and 0.64 for L2, indicating weak and moderate agreement for the identification of sarcopenia compared to L3. (4) Conclusions: Sarcopenia prevalence varied greatly depending on the vertebral landmark used for assessment. Using L2 or L1 alone resulted in a 16.8% and 23.8% misclassification of sarcopenia in this cohort of individuals with lung cancer. Full article

Neuromuscular diseases (NMD) cover a broad spectrum of different rare diagnoses in which the primary lesion is in the peripheral nervous system. The impairment caused by an NMD does not only interfere with physical status but also has a clear impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). It is therefore essential to know the coping style used by these patients. This study aims to analyze the coping strategies in a sample of people with NMD and how their coping style affects their HRQoL. This cross-sectional study included 61 adult patients diagnosed with a rare NMD. WHO-DAS II, SIP, SF-36, and COPE-60 instruments were administered. The results showed that people affected by NMDs tend to use more frequent coping strategies such as active planning, personal growth, and acceptance. In contrast, the least-used strategies were restraint, mental disengagement, venting, humor, and religion, which affected HRQoL negatively. Moreover, the degree of disability was a relevant variable, with an impact on HRQoL. Social support can be considered the main coping strategy that leads to an improvement in the psychosocial HRQoL (β = 503, p < 0.001). These findings are relevant to clinical practice, given the need to understand the coping variable to improve HRQoL. Full article