<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4cTaoE_0w85tH1w00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4cTaoE_0w85tH1w00" width="1060" height="707" >Performance fatigability is an independent component of motor impairment and, therefore, a potential therapeutic target in adult patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) who are still able to walk, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Muscle and Nerve. The authors also reported that treatment with nusinersen may be beneficial in reducing performance fatigability.To assess performance fatigability in SMA, a team of researchers, led by Tim Hagenacker, MD, from the University Hospital Essen in Essen, Germany, retrospectively analyzed 14 adult ambulatory patients with the disease who were treated with nusinersen for up to 70 months. They found that the majority of patients (12 out of 14) had performance fatigability before treatment. More precisely, the mean distance that the patients walked in the sixth minute during the 6-minute walk test was 71.1 meters compared to 81.8 meters walked in the first minute. This corresponded to a mean performance fatigability of 13.1%. During treatment with nusinersen, however, there was a mean reduction in performance fatigability of 5.6%. The researchers did not find a link between performance fatigability and fatigue as measured by the Fatigue Severity Scale.“We have confirmed the presence of [performance fatigability] as an independent component of motor impairment and a potential therapeutic target in adult [patients with] SMA,” the author said. “Prospective studies in larger cohorts are required to confirm this, and [performance fatigability] should be considered as an outcome measure in future studies of SMA therapies,” they added.Performance fatigability is reduced endurance when performing repetitive tasks in daily life. In this study, it was defined as the percentage change in the distance covered between the last and first minute of the 6-minute walk test. <h2>Reference</h2>Stolte B, Neuhoff S, Lipka J, et al. Performance fatigability in adults with spinal muscular atrophy treated long-term with nusinersen. Muscle Nerve. Published online October 3, 2024. doi:10.1002/mus.28269</div></body>

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Nusinersen May Reduce Performance Fatigability in SMA

Performance fatigability is an independent component of motor impairment and, therefore, a potential therapeutic target in adult patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) who are still able to walk, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Muscle and Nerve. The authors also reported that treatment with nusinersen...