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Pathological changes in skeletal muscle in acromegaly
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Pathological changes in skeletal muscle in acromegaly

F.L. Mastaglia
Acta Neuropathologica, Vol.24(4), pp.273-286
1973
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Abstract

Muscle biopsies from 9 acromegalics were examined by conventional histological and histochemical techniques. Six biopsies were also examined with the electron microscope. Isolated fibre necrosis or vacuolar degeneration was found in 3 biopsies and increased numbers of internal nuclei in 5 biopsies. A high glycogen content was demonstrated in many fibres in each biopsy by the PAS method and by electron microscopy. Routine enzyme histochemical techniques showed hypertrophy of type I and type II fibres in 2 subjects, hypertrophy of type I fibres only in 2 subjects, atrophy of both fibre types in 2 subjects and atrophy of type II fibres only in 4 subjects. Electron microscopy showed large amounts of lipfuscin pigment in many fibres while some fibres had large sarcolemmal nuclei with prominent nucleoli, and a prominent Golgi apparatus. Satellite cells were found in 3 biopsies. In one biopsy coiled membranous configurations thought to consist of phospholipids, and tubular aggregates thought to be derived from degenerating mitochondria were present at the periphery of a number of type II fibres. It is postulated that some of the ultrastructural changes found in muscle fibres are the result of the growth hormone-induced hypertrophic process and the increased turnover of cytoplasmic components associated with it while others reflect the atrophic process in some muscle fibres.

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