Duchenne's muscular dystrophy was associated with significantly delayed gastric-emptying times compared to normal controls (118.18 vs 42.5 minutes; P<0.01).
Case-Control (n=22)
Do patients with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy have delayed gastric-emptying times compared to normal controls?
Patients with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy exhibit significantly delayed gastric emptying, providing objective evidence of functional smooth-muscle impairment.
Absolute Event Rate: 118.18% vs 42.5%
p-value: p=<0.01
In Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, functional impairment of smooth muscle in the gastrointestinal tract can cause acute gastric dilatation and intestinal pseudo-obstruction that may be fatal. We describe a patient with this syndrome who at autopsy had smooth-muscle degeneration of the stomach. To provide objective evidence of functional smooth-muscle impairment in Duchenne's dystrophy, we performed gastric-emptying studies in 11 patients and 11 normal controls, using technetium-99m radionuclide scintigraphy in a test meal of oatmeal. The patients with Duchenne's dystrophy had delayed gastric-emptying times (118.18 +/- 32.21 minutes mean +/- SEM) as compared with controls (42.5 +/- 3.4 minutes, P less than 0.01). The cause of the pathological and functional abnormalities we describe in smooth muscle is unknown but may be a deficiency of dystrophin, the recently identified gene product of the Duchenne's muscular dystrophy locus.
Barohn et al. (1988) conducted a case-control in Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (n=22). Duchenne's muscular dystrophy vs. Normal controls was evaluated on Gastric-emptying times (minutes) (p=<0.01). Duchenne's muscular dystrophy was associated with significantly delayed gastric-emptying times compared to normal controls (118.18 vs 42.5 minutes; P<0.01).