Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34488651›Full record

Trial reportBMC geriatrics2021

Evaluation of rehabilitation exercise effects by using gradation-based skeletal muscle echo intensity in older individuals: a one-group before-and-after trial study.

Akito Yoshiko, Takashi Kaji, Tsuyoshi Kozuka, Takayuki Sawazaki, Hiroshi Akima

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC geriatrics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Effects of an exercise program on calf muscle characteristics in patients with Achilles tendinopathy.Physical therapy in sport : official journal of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Sports Medicine · 2025
    Observational
  3. Article
  4. Prevention of Metabolic Syndrome by Phytochemicals and Vitamin D.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023
    Review
  5. Comparison of the mass and amount of intramuscular non-contractile tissue of the trunk and lower extremity muscles between patients with Parkinson's disease and community-dwelling older adults.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2022
    Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Akito YoshikoFaculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Chukyo University, Toyota, Aichi, Japan. yoshiko@lets.chukyo-u.ac.jp.ORCID 0000-0001-8929-9202
Takashi KajiKajinoki Medical Clinic, Kani, Gifu, Japan.
Tsuyoshi KozukaKajinoki Medical Clinic, Kani, Gifu, Japan.
Takayuki SawazakiKajinoki Medical Clinic, Kani, Gifu, Japan.
Hiroshi AkimaResearch Center of Health, Physical Fitness & Sports, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
Nippon Zoki (Japan) · JPChukyo University · JPNagoya University · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHigher muscle echo intensity (EI) reflects higher content of fat and/or connective tissue within skeletal muscle, eventually inducing lower muscle strength, physical dysfunction, and metabolic impairment. Continuous exercise decreases muscle EI in older individuals; however, it is not well understood how several months' rehabilitation exercise affects gradation-based EI. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 6 months of rehabilitation exercise on gradation-based higher and lower EI in older men and women.

methodsTwenty-seven men and women (7 men, 20 women; age, 75.6 ± 6.4 years; height, 154.3 ± 8.5 cm; weight, 55.8 ± 9.7 kg) participated in this study. This study was a one-group before-and-after trial. They needed long-term care for activities of daily living. They performed rehabilitation exercises consisting of resistance exercises using a hydraulic resistance machine, stretching, and aerobic exercises using a recumbent bicycle once or twice a week for 6 months. B-mode ultrasonographic transverse image was taken from thigh muscles, e.g., rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, and biceps femoris. We calculated gradation-based cross-sectional area (CSA) from thigh muscles by dividing 256 greyscale level to 10 different components levels (e.g., 0-24, 25-49, 50-74, …, 200-224 and 225-249 a.u.).

resultsLowest EI (e.g., 0-24 a.u.) CSA of thigh muscle was significantly increased after the exercise (0.3 ± 0.3 to 1.0 ± 0.8 cm

conclusionsSeveral months' rehabilitation exercise affected both lower and higher EI in older men and women. This result suggests that rehabilitation exercise changes muscle composition by increasing contractile muscle tissue and decreasing fat and connective tissues.

Indexed as

Activities of Daily LivingMuscle, SkeletalAgedAged, 80 and overExercise TherapyFemaleHumansMaleMuscle StrengthUltrasonographyElderly individualsGradation-based echo intensityMuscle thicknessRehabilitation exercise

Identifiers

PMID34488651
PMCPMC8422694
OpenAlexW3198274212

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.