Which disease is described as having late stage RPE of 0-2/10?

• A. PD
• B. HD
• C. ALS
• D. MD

Answer: (D)

Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) shows how hard a task feels to a person. In late-stage muscular dystrophy the muscles are so severely weakened that the ability to generate force is greatly limited. Because the person can’t recruit enough motor units to perform even light activities, the activity becomes limited by weakness rather than by effort. The result is that the effort feels minimal to the person, often recorded as a very low rating on the RPE scale (0–2/10). This low RPE reflects the inability to produce meaningful work rather than a small metabolic demand.

Other neuromuscular diseases may still involve active motor output and greater perceived effort for the same tasks, even in later stages, so their typical RPE for attempted activities is not as low as seen with late-stage muscular dystrophy.