DMD Imaging Study Open at Three Sites

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A multicenter study of the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure the progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is open at sites in Florida, Oregon and Pennsylvania for boys with DMD who meet study criteria.

The study, known as ImagingDMD, is a joint effort of the University of Florida, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania, Oregon Health and Science University and Shriners Hospital for Children in Portland.

It's supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is being conducted to learn more about the changes that occur in the muscles of the lower legs in boys with DMD and to develop an improved imaging procedure to follow disease progression.

MRI and MRS are noninvasive imaging procedures that allow researchers to take pictures of what's going on inside the body without invading the body (such as through a muscle biopsy procedure).

Who can participate

Prospective participants must:

• have DMD;
• be between 5 and 14 years old;
• be able to walk 100 meters (328 feet);
• be able to climb four stairs;
• be willing and able to participate in two MRI and MRS sessions over two days during the first visit; and
• be willing and able to attend a study center approximately eight times over five years at intervals of every six months to every year, with each visit requiring MRI and MRS imaging, strength testing and functional testing.

Prospective participants must not:

• have an implant or device not compatible with MR imaging; or
• have had an injury to the legs that has weakened the muscles.

Contact the center nearest you

Claudia Senesac
Overall Project Coordinator and Gainesville Site Coordinator
Gainesville, Fla.
csenesac@phhp.ufl.edu
(352) 273-6453

Audrey Selzer
Portland Site Coordinator
Portland, Ore.
selzera@ohsu.edu
(503) 494-9640

Michele Toms
Philadelphia Site Coordinator
Philadelphia, Pa.
(215) 590-7727

More information

For more details about this study, see ImagingDMD; and/or see Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Biomarkers for Muscular Dystrophy; or enter NCT01484678 in the search box at ClinicalTrials.gov.

Also see:

• Seeing Is Understanding: Imaging Techniques Advance (a feature story on imaging techniques in DMD and other neuromuscular disorders), Quest magazine, July-September 2012
• DMD Research: New Funding for Imaging Studies, Quest News Online, May 17, 2010

About Clinical Trials A clinical trial is a test, in humans, of an experimental treatment. Although it's possible that benefit may be derived from participating in a clinical trial, it's also possible that no benefit, or even harm, may occur. MDA has no ability to influence who is chosen to participate in a clinical trial. To learn more, see Learn about Clinical Studies and Being a Co-Adventurer, which is about neuromuscular disease clinical trials. To see a continuously updated database of clinical trials, go to ClinicalTrials.gov.