any of the diseases and disorders that affect the human muscle system (muscle system, human). Diseases and disorders that result from direct abnormalities of the muscles are called primary muscle diseases; those that can be traced as symptoms or manifestations of disorders of nerves or other systems are not properly classified as primary muscle diseases. Because muscles and nerves (neurons) supplying muscle operate as a functional unit, disease of both systems results in muscular atrophy (wasting) and paralysis.

Muscular atrophy and weakness are among the most common indications of muscular disease (see below Muscle weakness (muscle disease)). Though the degree of weakness is not necessarily proportional to the amount of wasting, it usually is so if there is specific involvement of nerve or muscle. Persistent weakness exacerbated by exercise is the primary characteristic of myasthenia gravis.

Pain may be present in muscle disease because of defects in blood circulation, injury, or inflammation of the muscle. Pain is rare, except as a result of abnormal posture or fatigue in muscular dystrophy—a hereditary disease characterized by progressive wasting of the muscles. Cramps (cramp) may occur with disease of the motor or sensory neurons, with certain biochemical disorders (e.g., hypocalcemia, a condition in which the blood level of calcium is abnormally low), when the muscle tissues are affected by some form of poisoning, with disease of the blood vessels, and with exercise, particularly when cold.

Muscle enlargement (muscular hypertrophy) occurs naturally in athletes. Hypertrophy not associated with exercise occurs in an unusual form of muscular dystrophy known as myotonia congenita, which combines increased muscle size with strength and stiffness. Pseudohypertrophy, muscular enlargement through deposition of fat rather than muscle fibre, occurs in other forms of muscular dystrophy, particularly the Duchenne type.

The twitching of muscle fibres controlled by a single motor nerve cell, called fasciculation, may occur in a healthy person, but it usually indicates that the muscular atrophy is due to disease of motor nerve cells in the spinal cord. Fasciculation is seen most clearly in muscles close to the surface of the skin.

Weakness is a failure of the muscle to develop an expected force. Weakness may affect all muscles or only a few, and the pattern of muscle weakness is an indication of the type of muscle disease. Often associated with muscle weakness is the wasting of affected muscle groups. A muscle may not be fully activated in weakness because of a less than maximal voluntary effort; a disease of the brain, spinal cord, or peripheral nerves that interferes with proper electrical stimulation of the muscle fibres; or a defect in the muscle itself. Only when all causes have been considered can weakness be attributed to failure of the contractile machinery (i.e., the anatomy) of the muscle cell.

The effect of weakness in a particular muscle group depends on the normal functional role of the muscle and the degree to which force fails to develop. A weakness in muscles that are near the ends of the limbs usually results in a tendency to drop things if the upper limb is affected or in “foot drop” if the lower limbs are affected. The overall disability is not as great as weakness of more proximal (closer to the body) muscles controlling the pelvic or shoulder girdles, which hold large components of the total body mass against the force of gravity. Weakness of the proximal muscles that control the shoulder blade (scapula), for example, results in “winging” (i.e., when the sharp inner border protrudes backward) as the arms are held outstretched. If the weakness is severe, the arms cannot be raised at all.

Muscle disease may be detected by assessing whether the muscle groups can withhold or overcome the efforts of the physician to pull or push or by observing the individual carrying out isolated voluntary movements against gravity or more complex and integrated activities, such as walking. The weakness of individual muscles or groups of muscles can be quantified by using a myometer, which measures force based on a hydraulic or electronic principle. Recordings of contraction force over a period of time are valuable in determining whether the weakness is improving or worsening.

The assessment of muscle weakness (and wasting) is directed toward discovering evidence of muscle inflammation or damage. These changes are discerned by blood tests or by measuring alterations of the electrical properties of contracting muscles. Another investigative tool is the muscle biopsy, which provides muscle specimens for pathological diagnosis and biochemical analysis. Muscle biopsies can be taken with a needle or during a surgical procedure.

Muscle contraction results from a chain of events that begins with a nerve (nervous system, human) impulse traveling in the upper motor neuron from the cerebral cortex in the brain to the spinal cord. The nerve impulse then travels in the lower motor neuron from the spinal cord to the neuromuscular junction, where the neurotransmitter acetylcholine is released. Acetylcholine diffuses across the neuromuscular junction, stimulating acetylcholine receptors to depolarize the muscle membrane. The result is the contraction of the muscle fibre. Contraction depends on the integrity of each of these parts; disease or disorder in any part causes muscle weakness.

Muscle weakness typical of upper motor neuron disease is seen in stroke, producing weakness of one side of the body. The arm is typically flexed, the leg is extended, and the limbs have increased tone. Some movement may be preserved, although the use of the hand is particularly limited. In comparison with muscle weakness due to disease of the lower motor neuron or muscle, in the upper motor neuron weakness the muscle bulk is usually well preserved. Other causes of upper motor neuron disorders include multiple sclerosis, tumours (tumour), and spinal cord injury.

Degeneration of the lower neuron produces a flaccid muscle weakness. Muscle wasting is a prominent feature because the shrinkage and eventual death of neurons lead to denervation of the muscle. Diseases of the motor neurons lying in the spinal cord are called motor neuron diseases. The most common is motor neuron disease itself, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Lou Gehrig disease. Affected individuals are generally between 50 and 70 years of age and have upper and lower motor neuron weakness. Paralysis progresses rapidly, and death often results within three years. The spinal muscular atrophies are a group of disorders affecting infants, children, and young adults, often with an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance (i.e., requiring the gene from both parents for expression). The infantile type of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is fatal within one year, but the older cases tend to be less severe. No cause is yet known for any of these diseases, and no cure is available.

Diseases of the peripheral nerves (peripheral neuropathies, or polyneuropathies) can produce symptoms similar to the motor neuron diseases. Sensory disturbance due to involvement of the nerve fibres carrying sensory impulses is usually also involved. Symptoms usually begin in the hands and feet and progress toward the body. Peripheral neuropathies can cause degeneration of the axons, the core of the nerve fibres. The axons can regenerate but only at a rate of one to two millimetres per day. Thus, after injury to a nerve at the elbow, the hand will not recover for six to nine months. Toxins and damage to blood vessels tend to cause axonal types of neuropathy.

Peripheral neuropathy also can be caused by degeneration of the myelin sheaths, the insulation around the axons. These are termed demyelinating neuropathies. Symptoms are similar to neuropathies with axonal degeneration, but since the axons remain intact, the muscles rarely atrophy. Recovery from demyelinating neuropathies can be rapid. diphtheria and autoimmune diseases such as Guillain-Barré syndrome cause demyelinating neuropathies. Other causes of peripheral neuropathy include diabetes mellitus, nerve trauma, inherited factors, and chronic renal failure.

Diseases of the neuromuscular junction typically involve the generation of an end-plate potential that is too low to propagate an action potential in the muscle fibre. These diseases are associated with weakness and fatigability with exercise. Diseases of neuromuscular transmission may be acquired or inherited and may be the result of autoimmune disorders, such as myasthenia gravis; congenital disorders; toxins such as those present in botulism; and some drug-induced disorders.

It appears that the maintenance (exercise) of muscle mass and function depends on its use. For example, weight lifters and sprinters have muscle fibres with a large capacity for glycolysis (and thus ATP production) and sudden force generation. Striated muscles (striated muscle) can regenerate after damage and can adapt to the loads they carry. Thus, in a muscle biopsy from an individual with any of the muscular dystrophies, there is likely to be a mixture of the cellular changes associated with damage and those associated with regeneration and growth (hypertrophy).

Muscular activities in which the muscle resists an extending force (eccentric contractions) cause more damage to the muscle cells than contraction of the muscle at constant length (isometric contraction) or where shortening occurs (concentric contractions). The greater damage with eccentric contraction occurs despite the fact that the metabolic rate may be one-sixth of that of an equivalent concentric or isometric contraction.

Muscles that are immobilized, as by a plaster cast following fracture of a long bone, tend to waste rapidly through shrinkage of the muscle fibres. A consistent finding is that the oxidative capacity of the muscle is reduced. These changes are reversible with muscle-strengthening exercises.

The muscular dystrophies (muscular dystrophy) are a group of hereditary disorders characterized by progressive muscular atrophy and weakness. In most varieties the muscles of the limb girdles—the pelvic and shoulder muscles—are involved.

Measurement of the activity of creatine kinase in the blood, analysis of a muscle biopsy, and recordings from an electromyograph frequently establish that the muscle weakness is due to primary degeneration of the muscles. Creatine kinase is an enzyme of muscle fibres that is released into the bloodstream when the fibres degenerate, as in the muscular dystrophies. Muscle biopsies reveal the characteristic degeneration and attempted regeneration of muscle fibres. electromyography shows differences in the electrical patterns of normal muscle, myopathy, and chronic denervation, such as in the spinal muscular atrophies.

In contrast to the several varieties of muscular dystrophy that are relatively benign, the Duchenne type, which predominately affects boys, is severe. It causes difficulty in walking at about the age of four years, loss of the ability to walk at about the age of 11, and death before the age of 20, usually because of respiratory failure or pulmonary infections. There is a paradoxical increase in the size of the calf muscles, giving rise to the term pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy (because the increase in size is the result of replacement with fat and fibrous tissue rather than growth of fibres, as in true hypertrophy). Duchenne muscular dystrophy is an X-linked condition; a defect of a gene on the X chromosome is responsible for the disease. Females do not manifest the disease but have a 50 percent probability of transmitting the gene to their sons and their daughters (who themselves become carriers). Muscle degeneration is due to the lack of a protein called dystrophin, which causes a disruption of the membrane covering the muscle fibre; the results are the entry of excess amounts of calcium ions into the cell and cell degeneration. Treatment with glucocorticoid medications, specifically prednisone, may delay progression of the disease.

Becker muscular dystrophy is similar to the Duchenne type except that it appears later in life and progresses more slowly. It is due to different damage to the same gene on the X chromosome that causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy; some functional dystrophin is produced.

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy starts in the face, the muscles around the shoulder blades, and the upper arms. It progresses more slowly than Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and most individuals with this form of muscular dystrophy have a normal life span. The leg weakness frequently causes “foot drop” and a waddling gait. Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion; thus, the affected individual will receive the gene from one parent and will have a 50 percent chance of passing the disease to his children.

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy is similar to facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, but the face is not involved. Where inheritance is observed, it is usually autosomal recessive; i.e., both parents must donate the affected gene for expression of the disease.

There are a number of other muscular dystrophies, each characterized by an individual pattern of muscle weakness and inheritance. Ocular muscular dystrophy, or myopathy, predominantly affects muscles moving the eyes (eye disease). Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy affects not only the eye muscles but also those of the throat; it is usually autosomal dominant in inheritance, with onset in the later years of life. Distal myopathy particularly affects the muscles of the feet and hands.

Treatment includes physical therapy, spinal supports, and splints for the limbs. Prevention of obesity is considered important, especially in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and infections are promptly treated. The identification of carriers of the trait and genetic screening and counseling represent the best hope of reducing the incidence of this group of diseases.

Autoimmune antibodies (those produced against the body's own cells) cause the destruction of acetylcholine receptors of the neuromuscular junction. Removal of the thymus, treatment with high doses of corticosteroids (which depress the immune response) and anticholinesterase medications (which stimulate the transmission of nerve impulses), and plasmapheresis (a procedure in which the autoimmune antibodies are removed from the blood) are effective in controlling this disease.

Striated muscle may be damaged by a number of drugs and toxins (toxin). Some, such as intramuscular injection of the anesthetic drug bupivacaine, cause damage to the muscle fibres by disrupting the membrane and allowing calcium to enter and destroy the cell. Other drugs, such as chloroquine (an antimalarial drug) and vincristine (a medication used in the treatment of cancer), seem to disrupt the internal biochemistry of the muscle fibre. Still others, such as corticosteroids (used to reduce inflammation), affect the muscle metabolism; this is particularly true of the fluoro-substituted corticosteroids, which cause increased catabolism and thereby produce proximal muscle weakness especially of the upper limbs. Finally, other drugs, such as the antihypertensive hydralazine, produce an autoimmune lupuslike disorder and are associated with dermatomyositis or polymyositis.

There are rare individuals who suffer malignant hyperthermia, a potentially lethal attack of muscle rigidity and hyperthermia, when exposed to anesthetic agents such as halothane and muscle relaxants such as succinylcholine. During or after induction of the anesthesia, the patient develops rigidity and an increase in central body temperature. Death may occur suddenly when the central temperature reaches above 43 °C (110 °F). There is a high death rate in such attacks; should the patient recover, there will be recurrences with future exposure to these drugs. The condition tends to run in families, and it may be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. The cause is not completely known but apparently relates to an abnormality in the chemistry of calcium in the muscle fibre. Excess calcium is released into the sarcoplasm during exposure to the anesthetic agents, stimulating the mitochondria to burn glycogen and thereby produce heat. The excess calcium also causes the muscle fibres to contract and become rigid. Medications that prevent calcium release in the muscle appear to prevent the attack and are given at the first sign of attack. After the onset of the attack, the anesthetic agent should be removed and the patient cooled.

Bacterial myositis, an inflammation of muscle tissues as the result of a bacterial infection, is commonly localized and occurs after an injury. staphylococcus and Streptococcus organisms are usually responsible. General indications of infection, such as fever and increased numbers of white blood cells, are accompanied by local signs of inflammation, such as reddening, swelling, and warmth. Abscess formation is rare, except in persons who reside in tropical regions. In general, bacterial myositis responds to treatment with antibiotics and minor surgery.

An example of viral myositis is pleurodynia (also called Bornholm disease, epidemic myalgia, and devil's grip), which is caused by the Coxsackie virus. Affected persons recover completely after a brief period of intense muscular pain and fever.

The muscles also may be invaded by protozoa and helminths, or worms. trichinosis is an infection with the roundworm Trichinella spiralis (trichina) that results from eating infested pork that has not been thoroughly cooked. Reproduction of the worm takes place in the intestines. Larvae migrate from the intestinal walls and bury themselves in muscle tissue. Symptoms include fever, muscular pains, and sometimes weakness. Most persons afflicted with trichinosis recover after about two months, but death may result from invasion of the heart muscle.

The autoimmune diseases of muscle, grouped together under the term polymyositis, frequently are associated with inflammation of the skin in a characteristic distribution. The eyelids, cheeks, knuckles, elbows, knees, and backs of the hands are frequently involved. The combination of polymyositis and the typical dermatitis is classified as dermatomyositis. Muscle weakness can be proximal or diffuse. Frequently, swallowing is difficult and the neck is weak. The disease can develop acutely within a few days or chronically over years. A muscle biopsy shows infiltration of the striated muscle by white blood cells, mainly lymphocytes. These collect between the muscle fibres and around small blood vessels and appear to damage the muscle fibres. Vascular damage also is a major feature, particularly in the childhood form of dermatomyositis. The cause of the autoimmune reaction to the striated muscle is not known. The disease frequently occurs in association with other autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and progressive systemic sclerosis, and it can be associated with cancer in a significant proportion of older patients, particularly those with dermatomyositis. High-dose corticosteroid treatment, often combined with a cytotoxic immunosuppressant drug (i.e., one that destroys the cells and suppresses the immune system), such as cyclophosphamide, is frequently successful in suppressing the disease and allowing destroyed muscles to regenerate.

Striated muscle is directly or indirectly affected in most disorders caused by the underproduction or overproduction of hormones. This is true because the rates of synthesis or breakdown of the proteins of muscle are affected. If the thyroid gland is overactive (thyrotoxicosis, hyperthyroidism), there is muscle wasting of both type 1 fibres (oxidative-rich fibres responsible for endurance) and type 2 fibres (glycogen-rich fibres responsible for rapid sprint-type muscle contraction). If the thyroid exhibits underactivity (myxedema, hypothyroidism), there is a predominance of type 1 fibres and sometimes a decrease in type 2 fibre size. If the adrenal gland is overactive ( Cushing syndrome), there is selective atrophy of the type 2 fibres. This pattern is also seen in prolonged treatment with corticosteroid drugs (such as prednisone for asthma), which can result in profound wasting and weakness of proximal muscles.

A similar mechanism underlies the wasting and weakness associated with lack of vitamin D in which marked atrophy of type 2 fibres may occur. The actions of vitamin D in muscle are not fully understood, but it appears that at least one of its metabolites, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, may influence the resting energy state of the muscle and also the protein turnover. Unlike the inherited diseases of muscle, endocrine causes of disease may be eminently treatable.

Mitochondria (mitochondrion) are the cellular structures in which energy (in the form of heat and work) is produced from the oxidation of fuels such as glucose and fat. A number of biochemical defects in mitochondria have been discovered. There is no single entity that can be diagnosed as a “mitochondrial myopathy.” In those mitochondrial defects in which a defective oxidative metabolism exists, a common result is a tendency for the muscles to generate large amounts of lactic acid. This is a consequence of needing to provide energy from the nonoxidative breakdown of the glycogen stored in the muscle.

In 1951 British physician Brian McArdle discovered a disorder (McArdle's disease) of muscle that caused cramplike pains yet was not associated with the normal production of lactic acid from exercise. The defect was later identified as an absence of phosphorylase, the enzyme involved in the first step in the splitting off of the glucose-1-phosphate units from glycogen. Since blood-borne glucose can still be used to make glycogen, this disorder is classified with the glycogen-storage diseases (glycogenoses).

lipid storage myopathy is a potentially confusing term because the more severe forms of muscle disease (e.g., muscular dystrophy) are often associated with the replacement of the lost muscle fibres with fat cells. In the lipid storage myopathies the fat, or triglyceride, is deposited as tiny droplets within the cytoplasm of the muscle fibre. Normal type 1 muscle fibres have a greater amount of lipid droplets than type 2 muscle fibres.

In the early 1970s two disorders of muscle fat metabolism were discovered to affect a component of the shuttle system transporting free fatty acids into mitochondria for subsequent oxidation. This shuttle requires the fatty acid (acyl) molecule to attach to the carrier molecule carnitine in the presence of the enzyme acylcarnitine transferase. The acylcarnitine that is formed crosses the outer and inner mitochondrial membranes and then is split in the presence of another form of the enzyme acyltransferase to give carnitine and the acyl molecule, which is then oxidized. A deficiency of carnitine results in the storage of fats in the cytoplasm. Deficiency of acylcarnitine transferase results in muscle damage on severe exertion. Early recognition is important because the conditions are potentially treatable.

Myotonic dystrophy is the most common of the myotonic disorders. It is an autosomal dominant disorder affecting many systems of the body in addition to muscle. Symptoms include premature balding, cataract formation, mental impairment, gonadal atrophy, endocrine deficiencies, gastrointestinal tract dysfunction, and muscle fibre degeneration. While the disease has manifested itself by the age of 25 years in most cases, some affected individuals may escape developing significant symptoms throughout their lives.

Myotonia congenita, also known as Thomsen disease, is an autosomal dominant disorder, but it is not associated with any dystrophic features. The onset is at birth, usually with severe difficulty in relaxing the muscle after a forced contraction, such as a sneeze. Myotonia can occur in a number of other conditions, including the periodic paralyses.

Drugs that suppress the extent of the myotonia, such as quinine, procainamide, and phenytoin, have had variable success on the symptom of weakness. No cure of these diseases is yet available.

Individuals with periodic paralysis suffer from recurrent attacks of muscle paralysis that may last from half an hour to 24 hours. Attacks particularly affect the legs and to a lesser extent the arms and the trunk muscles. During an attack the muscles may be slightly swollen and tender. Attacks frequently occur with rest after vigorous exercise.

There are two types of periodic paralysis. In hypokalemic periodic paralysis, the level of potassium in the blood falls during the attack, which also can be precipitated by anything that tends to lower the potassium level. Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, on the other hand, is associated with an increase in the potassium level. An attack may be caused by oral therapy with potassium.

Both periodic paralyses are autosomal dominant disorders. Though neither is likely to lead to fatal muscle weakness, the temporary incapacity may be severe. In the attack the muscle fibres lose their electrical potential (they become depolarized) and thereby become incapable of excitation. The disease appears to be due to changes in the movements of ions through membranes of the skeletal muscle. Potassium appears to be one of the ions responsible for the condition. Abnormal ion channels or ion pumps in the membrane may be the cause. Treatment with medications appropriately altering the potassium level, such as acetazolamide, may be effective.

The action potential that is conducted along the length of the muscle cell originates in a depolarization of the postsynaptic membrane of the neuromuscular junction caused by the release of acetylcholine from the presynaptic nerve terminal. The synapse is thus potentially a key control point in the chain of command for muscular contraction. Complete failure of neuromuscular transmission occurs from poisoning with curare or botulinum toxin and results in complete paralysis. Incomplete or variable neuromuscular transmission is a feature of myasthenia gravis, the diagnosis of which can be confirmed by finding evidence of fatigue in response to electrical stimulation of the nerve supplying the muscle. This behaviour is a consequence of the immunologic damage to the postsynaptic membrane of the synapse by antibodies to the acetylcholine receptor.

Electrical stimulation of a muscle via its nerve is a means by which some of the mechanisms underlying muscle fatigue can be analyzed by stimulating the nerve at a range of frequencies and measuring the force of the contractions produced. Failure of force at high stimulation frequencies is seen with myasthenia gravis. In conditions in which normal muscle is cooled or lacks blood supply, there is also a high frequency of fatigue.

There is a relationship between the development of fatigue and the depletion of energy stores in exercising muscle. In prolonged exercise, such as marathon running, fatigue is associated with glycogen depletion due to oxidative glycolysis. Intense exercise that lasts only a few minutes is associated with the accumulation of lactate and an intracellular acidosis due to anaerobic (nonoxidative) glycolysis. In both types of exercise there is a reduction of phosphocreatine, although no appreciable depletion of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). In contrast, in individuals with myopathies, more striking changes are seen with only low total work or power output. Fatigue in individuals with McArdle disease, in whom glycogenolysis is absent, is not associated with the usual acidosis. Pronounced acidosis is found in individuals with defective mitochondrial metabolism, in whom there may be a slow resynthesis of phosphocreatine after exercise.