Erythrocyte deformation in human muscular dystrophy.

Erythrocytes from patients with congenital muscular dystrophy exhibit dramatic surface deformation when observed with a scanning electron microscope. A similar alteration, but one affecting a smaller proportion of cells, occurs in the case of female carriers of the sex-linked Duchenne dystrophic condition. These observed changes in the erythrocyte surface may reflect a systemic defect in membrane properties.