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Assessment of forearm muscles with ultrasound shear wave elastography in patients with acromegaly

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Abstract

Purpose

The effects of acromegaly on soft tissues, bones and joints are well-documented, but information on its effects on muscle mass and quality remains limited. The primary goal of this study is to assess the sonoelastographic features of forearm muscles in patients with acromegaly.

Method

Forty-five patients with acromegaly and 45 healthy controls similar in terms of gender, age, and body mass index (BMI) were included in a single-center, multidisciplinary, cross-sectional study. The body composition was analyzed using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and height-adjusted appendicular skeletal muscle index (hSMI) was calculated. The dominant hand’s grip strength was also measured. Two radiologists specialized in the musculoskeletal system employed ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) to assess the thickness and stiffness of brachioradialis and biceps brachii muscles.

Results

The acromegaly group had significantly higher thickness of both the biceps brachii (p = 0.034) and brachioradialis muscle (p = 0.046) than the control group. However, the stiffness of the biceps brachii (p = 0.001) and brachioradialis muscle (p = 0.001) was lower in the acromegaly group than in the control group. Disease activity has not caused a significant difference in muscle thickness and stiffness in the acromegaly group (p > 0.05). The acromegaly group had a higher hSMI (p = 0.004) than the control group. The hand grip strength was similar between the acromegaly and control group (p = 0.594).

Conclusion

The patients with acromegaly have an increased muscle thickness but decreased muscle stiffness in the forearm muscles responsible for elbow flexion. Acromegaly can lead to a permanent deterioration of the muscular structure regardless of the disease activity.

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Data availability

The data used to support the findings of this research are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Nurse Selma Avcu and Health Technician Semra Aydogan, who provided body composition analysis and hand grip strength measurements in.

the study group. We thank all the participants in the study.

Funding

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Emniyet Street, Yenimahalle, Ankara, 06100, Turkey

    Meric Coskun, Afruz Babayeva, Ethem Turgay Cerit, Mehmet Muhittin Yalcin, Alev Eroglu Altinova, Mujde Akturk, Mehmet Ayhan Karakoc & Fusun Balos Toruner

  2. Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara, 06100, Turkey

    Halit Nahit Sendur & Mahi Nur Cerit

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  1. Meric Coskun
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. M.C., H.N.S., M.N.C., A.B., E.T.C., M.M.Y., A.E.A., M.A., M.A.K., and F.B.T. have performed material preparation, data collection and analysis. M.C., F.B.T. wrote the first draft of the manuscript, and all authors commented on previous versions. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Meric Coskun.

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The local ethics committee approved this study. Participants were informed about the study and written informed consent was obtained from all subjects.

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Coskun, M., Sendur, H.N., Cerit, M.N. et al. Assessment of forearm muscles with ultrasound shear wave elastography in patients with acromegaly. Pituitary 26, 716–724 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11102-023-01352-1

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