Japanese researchers have developed a new way of assessing Kennedy disease, a form of adult bulbospinal muscular atrophy (SBMA) that is very common in Japan.
- The assessment included functional scores and quantified measures of muscle strength, in particular, lingual and wrist muscle strength, respiratory function tests and a timed walking test.
- 97 patients with SBMA and 36 people without the disease participated in the validation study of a composite score combining these different assessments and called SBMAFC.
- The SBMAFC score was found to be more sensitive to change than the other scores previously used.
This new, more powerful tool will undoubtedly be crucial for the development of future trials in this disease.
