Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Measuring walking and night activity in dogs with Duchenne muscular
By Shin, Jin-Hong et al.·Published in PloS one·2013·Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Quantitative phenotyping of Duchenne muscular dystrophy dogs by comprehensive gait analysis and overnight activity monitoring.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 8-month-old mixed-breed dogs with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) showed noticeable symptoms like reduced walking speed and shorter strides compared to their healthy siblings. Researchers used video recordings to analyze their movement and found that the affected dogs had significantly less mobility in their limbs and joints, both during the day and at night. This study created a set of easy-to-use tests to help track the progression of DMD and the effectiveness of new treatments in dogs.
People also search for: dog muscular dystrophy symptoms · why is my dog walking slowly · treatment for dog mobility issues
Abstract
The dystrophin-deficient dog is excellent large animal model for testing novel therapeutic modalities for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Despite well-documented descriptions of dystrophic symptoms in these dogs, very few quantitative studies have been performed. Here, we developed a comprehensive set of non-invasive assays to quantify dog gait (stride length and speed), joint angle and limb mobility (for both forelimb and hind limb), and spontaneous activity at night. To validate these assays, we examined three 8-m-old mix-breed dystrophic dogs. We also included three age-matched siblings as the normal control. High-resolution video recorders were used to digitize dog walking and spontaneous movement at night. Stride speed and length were significantly decreased in affected dogs. The mobility of the limb segments (forearm, front foot, lower thigh, rear foot) and the carpus and hock joints was significantly reduced in dystrophic dogs. There was also a significant reduction of the movement in affected dogs during overnight monitoring. In summary, we have established a comprehensive set of outcome measures for clinical phenotyping of DMD dogs. These non-invasive end points would be valuable in monitoring disease progression and therapeutic efficacy in translational studies in the DMD dog model.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23544107/