Letter to the Editor Regarding "Effect of Sarcopenia on Mortality After Percutaneous Vertebral Augmentation Treatment for Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures in Elderly Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study"

Temporal muscle thickness and area are an independent prognostic factors in patients aged 75 or younger with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage treated by clipping

BACKGROUND

Skeletal muscle mass is an important factor for various diseases' outcomes. As for its indicators, temporal muscle thickness (TMT) and temporal muscle area (TMA) on the head computed tomography are useful, and TMT and TMA were reported as potential prognostic factors for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We examined the clinical characteristics, including TMT and TMA, of SAH patients aged 75 or younger.

METHODS

We retrospectively investigated 127 SAH patients with all World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) grades and treated by clipping between 2009 and 2019. Clinical outcome was measured with the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 6 months, with favorable outcome defined as mRS 0-2. The associations between the clinical variables and the outcomes were analyzed.

RESULTS

The mean age was 60.6 (32-74) years, and 65% were women. The mean ± standard deviation of WFNS grade was 2.8 ± 1.4. TMT and TMA were larger in the favorable outcome group than the poor one. Multivariate analysis revealed that age, smoking, WFNS grade, and TMT or TMA were associated with favorable outcome. Receiver operating characteristic analysis found that the threshold of TMT was 4.9 mm in female and 6.7 mm in male, and that of TMA was 193 mm2 in female and 333 mm2 in male.

CONCLUSION

The odds ratios for TMT and TMA related to clinical outcome were lower than for smoking and WFNS grade; however, on multivariate analysis they remained independent prognostic factors in SAH patients aged 75 or younger treated by clipping. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Standard values for temporal muscle thickness in the Japanese population who undergo brain check-up by magnetic resonance imaging

BACKGROUND

Skeletal muscle mass is an important factor for various diseases' outcomes. The psoas muscle cross-sectional area on the abdominal computed tomography (CT), gait speed, and handgrip strength is used to measure it. However, it is difficult to measure the neurological patients' muscle mass or function because (1) we do not perform abdominal CT. (2) Such patients have impaired consciousness, gait disturbance, paresis, and need of rest. Temporal muscle thickness (TMT) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is now attractive for skeletal muscle volume indicator, but the reference values are not established. We herein investigated the standard value of the Japanese TMT using the brain check-up database by MRI.

METHODS

We retrospectively investigated 360 Japanese individuals from two institutions between 2017 and 2019. We measured TMT on the T1-weighted images in the previously reported way. The associations between TMT and other variables were analyzed.

RESULTS

TMT of 214 women and 146 men, ranging from 35 to 84 years old, was investigated. TMT ranged from 3.69 to 16.90 mm. Mean TMT values were significantly higher in men compared to women except for the over 70-year-old cohort. TMT was correlated to weight and body mass index in both sexes.

CONCLUSION

This is the first retrospective study on the standard TMT values from the Japanese brain check-up database. Our results were just reference values, but these would be useful for further investigation in other neurosurgical and neurological diseases regarding muscle volume or sarcopenia.