ALCOHOLIC MUSCLE DISEASE - FEATURES AND MECHANISMS

Approximately 50 per cent of all chronic alcohol misusers have alcohol ic muscle disease. Chronic alcoholic skeletal muscle myopathy is chara cterized by a selective atrophy of type II fibres, so that up to 20 pe r cent of the entire skeletal musculature is lost. The pathogenetic me chanism for the myopathy is currently unknown but a model has been des cribed in which various anatomically-distinct skeletal muscles are emp loyed to reflect type I and II fibres, i.e. the soleus and plantaris, respectively. In chronic studies, rats were fed nutritionally complete liquid diets containing either ethanol or glucose (controls) for up t o 6 weeks. In acute studies, rats were given single boluses of ethanol and rates of protein synthesis were examined at 2.5 h. The results sh ow that the myopathy is due to defective skeletal muscle protein synth esis. The information gained from these studies enhances our understan ding of skeletal muscle diseases characterized by preferential effects on anaerobic fibres and should be applicable to disease processes in other toxic or metabolic myopathies.