Section of Movement Science, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine, and Movement Science, University of Verona, Via Felice Casorati 43, 37137, Verona, Italy.
Division of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2023 Mar;123(3):523-531. doi: 10.1007/s00421-022-05076-1. Epub 2022 Nov 11.
Both muscle mass and physical activity are independent mechanisms that play a role in vascular remodeling, however, the direct impact of muscle mass on the structure and function of the vessels is not clear. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of muscle mass alteration on lower limbs arterial diameter, blood flow, shear rate and arterial stiffness.
Nine (33 ± 13 yrs) male individuals with a single-leg amputation were recruited. Vascular size (femoral artery diameter), hemodynamics (femoral artery blood flow and shear rate were measured at the level of the common femoral artery in both amputated (AL) and whole limbs (WL). Muscle mass of both limbs, including thigh for AL and thigh and leg for WL, was measured with a DXA system.
AL muscle mass was reduced compared to the WL (3.2 ± 1.2 kg vs. 9.4 ± 2.1 kg; p = 0.001). Diameter of the femoral artery was reduced in the AL (0.5 ± 0.1 cm) in comparison to the WL (0.9 ± 0.2 cm, p = 0.001). However, femoral artery blood flow normalized for the muscle mass (AL = 81.5 ± 78.7ml min kg,WL = 32.4 ± 18.3; p = 0.11), and blood shear rate (AL = 709.9 ± 371.4 s, WL = 526,9 ± 295,6; p = 0.374) were non different between limbs. A correlation was found only between muscle mass and femoral artery diameter (p = 0.003, R = 0.6561).
The results of this study revealed that the massive muscle mass reduction caused by a leg amputation, but independent from the level of physical activity, is coupled by a dramatic arterial diameter decrease. Interestingly, hemodynamics and arterial stiffness do not seem to be impacted by these structural changes.
肌肉质量和身体活动都是血管重塑的独立机制，但肌肉质量对血管结构和功能的直接影响尚不清楚。本研究旨在确定肌肉质量变化对下肢动脉直径、血流、剪切率和动脉僵硬的影响。
招募了 9 名（33±13 岁）单腿截肢的男性个体。在股总动脉水平测量了血管大小（股动脉直径）、血流（股动脉血流）和剪切率（在截肢（AL）和整个肢体（WL）的双侧。使用 DXA 系统测量了四肢的肌肉质量，包括 AL 的大腿和 WL 的大腿和小腿。
与 WL 相比，AL 的肌肉质量减少（3.2±1.2kg vs. 9.4±2.1kg；p=0.001）。与 WL（0.9±0.2cm）相比，AL 的股动脉直径减小（0.5±0.1cm；p=0.001）。然而，股动脉血流与肌肉质量相比（AL=81.5±78.7ml·min·kg，WL=32.4±18.3；p=0.11）和血液剪切率（AL=709.9±371.4s，WL=526.9±295.6；p=0.374）在肢体之间无差异。仅在肌肉质量和股动脉直径之间发现相关性（p=0.003，R=0.6561）。
本研究结果表明，腿部截肢导致的大量肌肉质量减少，与身体活动水平无关，与动脉直径显著下降有关。有趣的是，血液动力学和动脉僵硬似乎不受这些结构变化的影响。
