The diagnosis and pathogenesis of chronic alcoholic myopathy
P eriphera l neuromuscular apparatus lesion i s a common complication of chronic alcohol intoxication. Alcohol-induced skeletal muscle disease is least studied now. A comprehensive clinical, neurophysiological, and morphological examination was made in 42 patients with chronic alcohol intoxication during this study. All the patients underwent skeletal muscle biopsy followed by muscle fiber morphometry. There was both selective type 2 muscle fiber atrophy and diffuse types 1 and 2 muscle fiber atrophic changes. The clinical manifestations of skeletal muscle disease corresponded to the degree of an atrophic process. There was impairment in the main components of protein synthesis at both intracellular and systemic regulation levels.