New Biomarkers in Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy, Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography.

New Biomarkers in Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy, Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography.

Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) is one of the most frequent muscular dystrophies in the adulthood. Multi-spectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) is an innovative imaging technique able to non-invasively characterize the molecular composition of the muscle tissue. With this pilot study we will explore the performance of MSOT imaging in FSHD patients and correlate the findings with clinical and MRI data, with the final aim to identify new disease biomarkers.

Inclusion Criteria:

• molecular diagnosis of FSHD
• recent pelvic and lower-limb muscle MRI

Exclusion Criteria:

• presence of conditions that can alter the signal of the muscles under investigation: eg. tattoos, scars or skin abrasions at the site of probe evaluation, recent trauma, decompensated diabetes, symptomatic radiculopathies, acute or chronic inflammatory diseases
• current or presumed pregnancy
• inability to give informed consent