The purpose of the study is to determine the best ways to assess how people are affected by myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). The study will assess walking speed, muscle strength, muscle size, myotonia, heart rhythm, mental efficiency, and overall health. Participants will complete questionnaires to record their ideas about how they are affected by DM1. The study will evaluate people with DM1 over 1 year to determine how the condition changes over time. The study will identify biomarkers of DM1. Biomarkers are laboratory measurements that show the effects of DM1 on a person's muscle tissue or blood. Biomarkers are needed in future studies to determine how DM1 may respond to treatments.
Participants in the study will come to the study site for 3 study visits. Each visit will take most of the day. Each visit will include a series of evaluations to determine how the person is affected by myotonic dystrophy. The results from the initial study visit will be compared to the second study visit after 3 months and the third study visit after 1 year. A small needle biopsy of a leg muscle will be performed at the first and second study visits (but not at the third visit). After the second study visit, participants will be asked to make a phone call every day for 30 days to report their symptoms and muscle strength (grip strength).
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
120
Stanford University
Stanford, California, United States
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida, United States
University of Kansas Medical Center
Kansas City, Kansas, United States
NIH
Bethesda, Maryland, United States
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York, United States
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States
Needle Muscle Biopsy RNA Biomarkers
To evaluate the stability of RNA splice events as biomarkers of DM1.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months
Myotonia
Muscle relaxation time of the hand grip and electromyography (EMG) of a leg muscle (tibialis anterior)
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 1 year
Muscle Strength
Computer-assisted and manual testing of muscle strength
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 1 year
Myotonic Dystrophy Health Index (MDHI)
Patient perceptions of their disease burden as measured by a questionnaire.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 1 year
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