LINKÖPING, Sweden, June 19, 2025 AMRA Medical was thrilled to attend the 2025 International Research Congress, hosted by the FSHD Society! The conference, held last week in Amsterdam, NL, remains the premier global forum dedicated solely to facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) research.
The event once again played a catalytic role in translating ideas into potential therapies, uniting leading clinicians, researchers, and industry experts to drive collaboration and innovation. AMRA was proud to be among this year’s delegates, where we shared new insights from the CTRN-FSHD France Natural History Study—the largest FSHD natural history study to date.
We’re pleased to report that our own Markus Karlsson, PhD, presented results from a study titled “Natural History of Muscle Volume and Muscle Fat Content Biomarkers in FSHD Based on Whole-Body Fat-Referenced MRI.” Delivered as a featured oral presentation on Day 2, the talk highlighted that fat-referenced MRI biomarkers targeting intermediate muscles show significantly greater one-year progression in FSHD patients, underscoring their potential as sensitive, responsive markers in FSHD trials.
Our first poster presentation, “Quantitative Whole-Body MRI Biomarker Relation to Muscle Strength and Function in FSHD Patients,” demonstrated that AMRA’s whole-body MRI biomarkers, particularly lean muscle volume (LMV), strongly correlate with muscle function in FSHD patients, supporting their use as objective, reliable measures for assessing treatment effects in clinical trials.
The second poster, “Associations Between Muscle Strength and MRI Biomarkers in FSHD: Toward Imaging-Based Functional Classification,” showed that muscles with normal-appearing MRI features accurately identified clinically functioning muscles in FSHD patients, adding to the growing evidence base for MRI’s value as a surrogate biomarker in FSHD trials.
Last but certainly not least, our collaborator Ian Woodcock of Murdoch University shared results from “Whole-Body Muscle MRI in Children: Two-Year Follow-Up of the iFSHD-LOS Cohort.” This research showcases the utility and importance of AMRA biomarkers in a pediatric FSHD population.
If we missed you last week, reach us anytime at info@amramedical.com to learn more about how we’re using MRI-based methodologies to move disease research forwards in FSHD and beyond! AMRA is committed to helping pioneer the next wave of neuromuscular disease trials by delivering MRI-based biomarkers and advanced analytics – such as our composite scores – that enable standardized evaluation across clinical research efforts; including in heterogenous, hard-to-quantify populations such as FSHD.
As always, we truly enjoyed connecting with the broader FSHD community, and we look forward to continuing to make an impact as we move neuromuscular disease research forward together!
MEDIA CONTACT INFORMATION
AMRA Medical
Marie Börjesson, VP Brand & Marketing
0046 70 628 1977
marie.borjesson@amramedical.com