Electrocardiographic, biochemical, and morphologic abnormalities in dystrophic hamsters with cardiomyopathy

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Electrocardiographic (EKG) changes were investigated in 7-month-old dystrophic hamsters (DH) with cardiomyopathy and were correlated with biochemical and histologic aberrations. Abnormally tall R-I and R-aVL amplitudes, deep S-III and S-aVR waves, and elongated PR-I, QT-I, and QRS-I intervals (all at P P < 0.001) in DH. Excessive intracellular calcium accumulation in the heart (P < 0.0001), diaphragm (P < 0.001), and rectus femoris (P < 0.05), and elevated plasma creatine kinase concentrations (P < 0.001) were also noted in DH. Histopathology in the cardiac and skeletal muscles of DH included fatty infiltration, centronucleation, and sporadic necrosis with calcium deposition. Observed EKG abnormalities, biochemical alterations, and histological aberrations in the cardiac and skeletal muscles of DH are strikingly similar to those reported in DMD and thus substantiate the relevance of DH as a suitable model for the study of muscular dystrophy and cardiac hypertrophy.