Decoding Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: MRI Study Explores the Relationship Between AMRA’s Muscle Biomarkers and Functional Changes in Individuals With DMD

Recent AMRA research examines whether the use of MRI-based biomarkers as surrogate endpoints in DMD clinical trials is feasible, allowing for more informative descriptions of disease severity and progression in DMD

Researchers from AMRA Medical, in collaboration with Pfizer, Inc., have recently published a study demonstrating the utility of AMRA’s muscle biomarkers as surrogate endpoints to describe functional changes in participants with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). The study explored changes in lean muscle volume (LMV), muscle fat fraction (MFF), and muscle fat infiltration (MFI) – as well as their relationship to changes in physical performance as described by the North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA) – in order to determine whether MRI-based muscle biomarkers have the potential to detect and quantify clinically meaningful changes in DMD.

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AMRA's muscle biomarkers - Research study explore changes in lean muscle volume (LMV), muscle fat fraction (MFF), and muscle fat infiltration (MFI)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from a Phase II clinical trial for domagrozumab in children were re-analyzed using AMRA® Researcher with corresponding functional data at baseline, and at follow-up after 49 and 97 weeks. Findings showed that LMV, MFF, and MFI all correlated with muscle strength and NSAA scores at baseline and at follow-ups, and that equally strong correlations were observed when comparing changes in MRI biomarkers after 49 weeks to changes in NSAA score after 97 weeks.

The study found not only that AMRA’s MRI-based muscle quantification measures are associated with physical function and disease progression in DMD, but also that these measures may be able to augment clinical research studies in DMD by serving as biomarkers of DMD-associated changes prior to clinical manifestations.

Furthermore, the study builds on previous work by AMRA in the neuromuscular disease space, notably in sIBM and FSHD. Our early success in demonstrating the utility of these fat-referenced MRI-based muscle composition biomarkers in clinical research applications of heterogeneous and slowly-progressing muscle dystrophies such as FSHD, now in more rapidly-progressing diseases such as DMD, as well as in inflammatory myopathies such as sIBM, is a testament to the reproducibility of these composite measurements for use as clinical research tools in a number of neuromuscular disease trials.

AMRA is committed to helping pioneer the next wave of neuromuscular disease trials using MRI-based analyses, by delivering biomarkers that enable standardized evaluation of various endpoints in neuromuscular disease research. With AMRA, researchers can augment clinical trials with powerful endpoints to gain more holistic insights and, ultimately, advance their clinical pipeline.

You can read the full publication inMuscle & Nerve, titled “Relationship Between Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Measures and Functional Changes in Patients With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy”, here. You can also learn more about how AMRA’s unique MRI-based biomarker methodologies can improve your neuromuscular disease trials here, or by reaching out to info@amramedical.com.

About AMRA Medical

AMRA Medical is a health informatics and precision medicine company that is pioneering body composition analysis, providing cutting-edge solutions to advance both clinical research and patient care initiatives. AMRA's gold-standard technology delivers multiple fat and muscle biomarkers - derived simply from rapid whole-body MRI scans. AMRA is committed to driving transformative care and simplifying vital decision-making in both research and clinical care settings by offering support services via their innovative platform.

Learn more about AMRA Medical’s MRI-based solutions at https://amramedical.com/solutions, or connect with our team of experts for a detailed discussion at info@amramedical.com.

Follow AMRA on LinkedIn for the latest updates in fat distribution and muscle composition assessments in metabolic disease research and beyond.

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