Muscle strength, quantity and quality and muscle fat quantity and their association with oxidative stress in patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy: Effect of antioxidant supplementation
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify causes of quadriceps muscle weakness in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). To this aim, we evaluated quadriceps muscle and fat volumes by magnetic resonance imaging and their relationships with muscle strength and oxidative stress markers in adult patients with FSHD (n = 32) and healthy controls (n = 7), and the effect of antioxidant supplementation in 20 of the 32 patients with FSHD (n = 10 supplementation and n = 10 placebo) (NCT01596803). Compared with healthy controls, the dominant quadriceps strength and quality (muscle strength per unit of muscle volume) were decreased in patients with FSHD. In addition, fat volume was increased, without changes in total muscle volume. Moreover, in patients with FSHD, the lower strength of the non-dominant quadriceps was associated with lower muscle quality compared with the dominant muscle. Antioxidant supplementation significantly changed muscle and fat volumes in the non-dominant quadriceps, and muscle quality in the dominant quadriceps. This was associated with improved muscle strength (both quadriceps) and antioxidant response. These findings suggest that quadriceps muscle strength decline may not be simply explained by atrophy and may be influenced also by the muscle intrinsic characteristics. As FSHD is associated with increased oxidative stress, supplementation might reduce oxidative stress and increase antioxidant defenses, promoting changes in muscle function.
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BibTeX
@article{wilson2026muscle,
title = {{Muscle strength, quantity and quality and muscle fat quantity and their association with oxidative stress in patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy: Effect of antioxidant supplementation}},
author = {Vinicius Dias Wilson and Sébastien Bommart and Emilie Passerieux and Claire Thomas-Junius and Joël Pincemail and Marie Christine Picot and Jacques Mercier and Florence Portet and Sandrine Arbogast and Dalila Laoudj-Chenivesse},
journal = {Free Radical Biology and Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2024.04.001},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-04533743v1},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Muscle strength, quantity and quality and muscle fat quantity and their association with oxidative stress in patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy: Effect of antioxidant supplementation
AU - Vinicius Dias Wilson
AU - Sébastien Bommart
AU - Emilie Passerieux
AU - Claire Thomas-Junius
AU - Joël Pincemail
AU - Marie Christine Picot
AU - Jacques Mercier
AU - Florence Portet
AU - Sandrine Arbogast
AU - Dalila Laoudj-Chenivesse
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - Free Radical Biology and Medicine
DO - 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2024.04.001
UR - https://hal.science/hal-04533743v1
AB - The purpose of this study was to identify causes of quadriceps muscle weakness in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). To this aim, we evaluated quadriceps muscle and fat volumes by magnetic resonance imaging and their relationships with muscle strength and oxidative stress markers in adult patients with FSHD (n = 32) and healthy controls (n = 7), and the effect of antioxidant supplementation in 20 of the 32 patients with FSHD (n = 10 supplementation and n = 10 placebo) (NCT01596803). Compared with healthy controls, the dominant quadriceps strength and quality (muscle strength per unit of muscle volume) were decreased in patients with FSHD. In addition, fat volume was increased, without changes in total muscle volume. Moreover, in patients with FSHD, the lower strength of the non-dominant quadriceps was associated with lower muscle quality compared with the dominant muscle. Antioxidant supplementation significantly changed muscle and fat volumes in the non-dominant quadriceps, and muscle quality in the dominant quadriceps. This was associated with improved muscle strength (both quadriceps) and antioxidant response. These findings suggest that quadriceps muscle strength decline may not be simply explained by atrophy and may be influenced also by the muscle intrinsic characteristics. As FSHD is associated with increased oxidative stress, supplementation might reduce oxidative stress and increase antioxidant defenses, promoting changes in muscle function.
SN - 0891-5849
ER -