Fiber density in congenital muscle fiber type disproportion. I. Congenital myopathies.

In 15 cases with congenital muscle fiber type disproportion, concentric needle EMG (CNEMG) and single fiber EMG (SFEMG) with fiber density (FD) estimation was performed. The aim of the work was to establish the nature of congenital muscle fiber type disproportion. In 11 cases CNEMG revealed interference pattern on maximal effort and low, polyphasic motor unit action potentials (MUAPs) of short duration indicating a myopathic lesion. In four other cases electromyographic changes were less evident. The FD values were slightly increased in 9 cases. This finding could be explained by pronounced muscle fiber splitting with subsequent ephaptic transmission or even secondary denervation and reinnervation. The most important conclusion from our pilot study is the confirmation of the fact that reinnervation with excessive sprouting is not the only mechanism responsible for muscle fiber type disproportion.