Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42190145›Full record

ArticleNeurology2026

A Validated Prognostic Score for Time to Loss of Ambulation in Patients With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Craig M McDonald, James Signorovitch, Nathalie Marie Goemans, Eugenio Mercuri, Heather Gordish-Dressman, Krista Vandenborne, Gautam Sajeev, Susan J Ward, Mirko Fillbrunn, Molly Frean and 6 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neurology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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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

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Craig M McDonaldDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Department of Pediatrics, University of California Davis Health, The Cooperative International Neuromuscular Research Group, Sacramento, CA.ORCID 0000-0002-8779-3220
James SignorovitchAnalysis Group, Inc., Boston, MA.
Nathalie Marie GoemansChild Neurology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-5157-7155
Eugenio MercuriChild Neurology Unit e Centro Nemo, IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-9851-5365
Heather Gordish-DressmanDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Department of Pediatrics, University of California Davis Health, The Cooperative International Neuromuscular Research Group, Sacramento, CA.ORCID 0000-0002-2330-5427
Krista VandenborneUniversity of Florida, Gainseville, FL.
Gautam SajeevAnalysis Group, Inc., Boston, MA.ORCID 0000-0002-1827-8938
Susan J WardCollaborative Trajectory Analysis Project, Cambridge, MA.
Mirko FillbrunnAnalysis Group, Inc., Boston, MA.
Molly FreanAnalysis Group, Inc., Boston, MA.ORCID 0000-0002-5770-4266
Laurent ServaisMDUK Oxford Neuromuscular Centre, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford and NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Center, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-9270-4061
Erik H NiksDepartment of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, the Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-5892-5143
Volker StraubJohn Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre, Newcastle University and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-9046-3540
Imelda J M De GrootDepartment of Rehabilitation, Donders Centre of Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, the Netherlands; and.ORCID 0000-0003-1634-1427
Francesco MuntoniUCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-9102-5232
iMDEX, for the PRO-DMD-01 Study, ImagingDMD, CINRG DNHS, and Universitaire Ziekenhuizen Leuven Group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

objectivesDevelopment of a prognostic score for time to loss of ambulation (LoA) may help guide treatment of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Information from clinical data sources was used to create a prognostic score for LoA for use in practice.

methodsData used included 4 natural history databases and 3 clinical trial placebo arms. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) 6-minute walk distance ≥75 m; (2) a subsequent visit with an outcome assessment that identified LoA; (3) current corticosteroid use; and (4) available data on prognostic factors. Classification and regression tree models for time to LoA were used to classify patients into 5 risk groups (group 5 = highest risk), prioritizing the easily obtained rise from floor (RFF) and 10-m walk/run (10MWR) times as predictors. The prognostic score was validated in the Cooperative International Neuromuscular Research Group data.

resultsData from 608 boys were analyzed (mean age 9.1 years). Kaplan-Meier curves for time to LoA for each risk group were well separated, describing meaningful differences in time to LoA. Median time to LoA for risk group 1 was not reached during a median of 2.0 years of follow-up. Median times to LoA for risk groups 2-5 were 4.4 (95% CI 4.0-inf), 3.0 (2.1-4.1), 2.0 (1.6-2.1), and 0.9 (0.8-1.6) years, respectively. These risk groups showed concordant times to LoA among 226 patients in the validation data and provided finer separation of patients across different levels of LoA risk than thresholds based on individual functional tests. DISCUSSION: Patients with DMD were classified into 5 risk groups for LoA using a simple, easy-to-use prognostic score based on RFF and 10MWR thresholds. The prognostic score replicated well in validation data and performed better than previously proposed classifications used in practice. Incorporating the prognostic score for time to LoA into a clinical visit may allow clinicians to counsel patients on trial eligibility, need for mobility devices, home adjustments, financial accommodations, and psychosocial needs. The prognostic score may also be used in trials to inform inclusion criteria and stratification. Study limitations included limited data for prediction of LoA risk beyond 4 years.

Indexed as

Muscular Dystrophy, DuchenneWalkingAdolescentChildHumansKaplan-Meier EstimateMalePrognosisTime Factors

Identifiers

PMID42190145
PMCPMC13312938

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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.