McArdle's disease presenting with asymmetric, late-onset arm weakness

McArdle's disease or myophosphorylase deficiency is one of the most common muscle glycogenoses and typically presents in childhood or adolescence with exercise intolerance, myalgia, myoglobinuria, and cramps in exercising mus cle. We describe an elderly man who developed asymmetric proximal arm weakn ess at age 73. He had no history of exercise-induced cramps, myalgias, or m yoglobinuria. Creatine kinase levels were elevated, serum lactate did not r ise on ischemic exercise testing, and muscle biopsy showed a vacuolar myopa thy with absent myophosphorylase activity. This unusual case demonstrates t hat McArdle's disease may present with fixed, asymmetric proximal weakness at an advanced age and should be considered in this clinical setting, espec ially when a history of poor exercise tolerance can be elicited. (C) 2000 J ohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.