Role of Central Fatigue in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1: a Brain MRI Study

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), also known as Steinert’s myotonic dystrophy is the most common muscular dystrophy in the adulthood, as its incidence is 1:8.000. DM1 is a multisystem disorder, indeed, impairment in other organs such as heart, eyes, endocrine system, central and peripheral nervous systems, gastrointestinal organs, bones, and skin has been identified, making a multidisciplinary approach crucial for the long-term clinical management of the patients. The main muscular symptoms include myotonia phenomenon, weakness, and fatigue. Fatigue is the most common complaint of DM1 patients and can be described as any decline, reversible, in muscle performance associated with muscle activity. Fatigue can be divided into two components: peripheral and central. In this study, we investigate the correlation between the fatigue experienced by patients and assessed by the fatigue severity scale (FSS) and 3 Tesla MRI images