A comparison of three measures of disease progression in ALS

Effective clinical trials in neuromuscular research require accurate and sensitive methods to quantitate disease progression. The purpose of this study was to concurrently compare manual muscle testing (MMT), maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), and a functional scale (the ALS Score). Twe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the neurological sciences 1996-08, Vol.139 (suppl), p.64-70
Main Authors: Andres, Patricia L., Skerry, Linda M., Thornell, Brenda, Portney, Leslie G., Finison, Lorenz J., Munsat, Theodore L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
ALS Score
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - diagnosis
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - physiopathology
Data Interpretation, Statistical
Disease Progression
Elbow
Female
Humans
Knee
Male
Middle Aged
Motor Activity - physiology
Muscle Contraction - physiology
Muscle, Skeletal - physiology
Neuromuscular
Quantitative measurement
Shoulder
Strength
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Summary:Effective clinical trials in neuromuscular research require accurate and sensitive methods to quantitate disease progression. The purpose of this study was to concurrently compare manual muscle testing (MMT), maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), and a functional scale (the ALS Score). Twenty patients with ALS were tested ten times at monthly intervals using each of the three methods. High inter-rater reliability for each of the three methods was demonstrated. All three methods demonstrated a decline over the testing period. However, MMT and the ALS Score were less sensitive to early change. A wide variation of percent of normal MVIC was demonstrated within each MMT grade and extensive overlap between MMT grades was observed. MVIC is the method of choice in studying patients in the early stages of ALS and in studies conducted over a short period of time.
ISSN:0022-510X
DOI:10.1016/0022-510X(96)00108-6