Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Neurology, 330 Brookline Avenue, TCC-810, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Neurology, 330 Brookline Avenue, TCC-810, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Clin Neurophysiol. 2020 Oct;131(10):2423-2428. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2020.06.027. Epub 2020 Jul 17.
To learn if quantitative ultrasound (QUS) distinguishes the tongues of healthy participants and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients by echo intensity (EI) and to evaluate if EI correlates with measures of bulbar function.
Ultrasound was performed along the midline of the anterior tongue surface in 16 ALS patients and 16 age-matched controls using a linear hockey stick 16-7 MHz transducer. A region of interest was manually drawn and then EI was determined for the upper 1/3 of the muscle. For patients, the ALS functional rating scale - revised (ALSFRS-R) was used to calculate bulbar sub-scores and the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI) was used to measure tongue strength.
EI was significantly higher in ALS patients than in healthy participants (49.8 versus 37.8 arbitrary units, p < 0.01). In the patient group, EI was negatively correlated with ALSFRS-R bulbar sub-score (R = -0.65, p < 0.01). An inverse correlation between EI and tongue strength did not reach significance (R = -0.34, p = 0.28).
This study suggests that EI can differentiate healthy from diseased tongue muscle, and correlates with a standard functional measure in ALS patients.
Tongue EI may represent a novel biomarker for bulbar dysfunction in ALS.
了解定量超声（QUS）是否通过回声强度（EI）区分健康参与者和肌萎缩侧索硬化症（ALS）患者的舌，以及评估 EI 是否与延髓功能测量相关。
使用线性曲棍球棒 16-7MHz 换能器，在 16 名 ALS 患者和 16 名年龄匹配的对照组的舌前表面中线进行超声检查。手动绘制感兴趣区域，然后确定肌肉上 1/3 的 EI。对于患者，使用肌萎缩侧索硬化功能评定量表-修订版（ALSFRS-R）计算延髓亚评分，使用爱荷华口腔表现仪器（IOPI）测量舌强度。
EI 在 ALS 患者中明显高于健康参与者（49.8 与 37.8 个任意单位，p<0.01）。在患者组中，EI 与 ALSFRS-R 延髓亚评分呈负相关（R=-0.65，p<0.01）。EI 与舌强度之间的负相关未达到显著水平（R=-0.34，p=0.28）。
本研究表明，EI 可区分健康和患病的舌肌，并与 ALS 患者的标准功能测量相关。
舌 EI 可能代表 ALS 延髓功能障碍的一种新的生物标志物。
