Early sarcolemmal dysfunction in skeletal muscle amyloidosis.

Weakness and stiffness appeared in a 65-year-old man affected by multiple myeloma. Muscle fibre conduction velocity was recorded in situ in the biceps brachii and found to be significantly decreased. Muscle biopsy, performed in the same muscle, showed amyloid deposition and moderate atrophy of muscle fibres, which was not sufficient to explain the reduction in muscle fibre conduction velocity. The results of the study suggest that amyloid interferes with conduction along the sarcolemma and that this plays a pathogenetic role mainly in the early stages of the disease.