The NorthStar Ambulatory Assessment in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: Considerations for the design of clinical trials

Valeria Ricotti, Deborah A. Ridout, Marika Pane, Marion Main, Anna Mayhew, Eugenio Mercuri, Adnan Y. Manzur, Francesco Muntoni*, S. Robb, R. Quinlivan, A. Sarkozy, J. Butler, K. Bushby, V. Straub, M. Guglieri, M. Eagle, H. Roper, H. McMurchie, A. Childs, K. PysdenL. Pallant, S. Spinty, G. Peachey, A. Shillington, E. Wraige, H. Jungbluth, J. Sheehan, R. Spahr, I. Hughes, E. Bateman, C. Cammiss, T. Willis, L. Groves, N. Emery, P. Baxter, M. Senior, E. Scott, L. Hartley, B. Parsons, A. Majumdar, L. Jenkins, B. Toms, K. Naismith, A. Keddie, I. Horrocks, M. Di Marco, G. Chow, A. Miah, C. De Goede, N. Thomas, M. Geary, J. Palmer, C. White, K. Greenfield, I. Wilson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

125 Citations (Scopus)
342 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Objective: With the emergence of experimental therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), it is fundamental to understand the natural history of this disorder to properly design clinical trials. The aims of this study were to assess the effects produced on motor function by different DMD genotypes and early initiation of glucocorticoids. Methods: Through the NorthStar Network, standardised clinical data including the NorthStar Ambulatory Assessment score (NSAA) on 513 ambulant UK boys with DMD were analysed from 2004 to 2012. For the analysis of the genetic subpopulation, we also included data from 172 Italian boys with DMD. NSAA raw scores were converted into linear scores. Results: On the linearised NSAA, we observed an average decline of 8 units/year (4 units on raw NSAA analysis) after age 7. The median age at loss of ambulation (LOA) was 13 years (95% CI 12.1 to 13.5); 2 years prior to LOA, the estimated mean linearised NSAA score was 42/100 (13/34 raw scale). Starting glucocorticoids between 3 and 5 years conferred an additional gain in motor function of 3 units/year (1.3 raw units) up to age 7. When analysing the effect of genotype in the UK and Italian cumulative cohorts, individuals with deletions amenable to exons 44 and 46 skipping declined at a slower rate over 2 years (9 units (4 raw units), p<0.001), while 53 and 51 skippable deletions showed a faster decline of 14 (4.5; p<0.001) and 5 linearised units (2.4 NSAA units; p=0.02), respectively. Conclusions: Our study provides a novel insight on the current natural history of DMD, which will be instrumental for the design of future clinical trials.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)149-155
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
Volume87
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2016

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The NorthStar Ambulatory Assessment in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: Considerations for the design of clinical trials'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this