Cytoarchitecture of muscle in a genetic model of murine diabetes

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Abstract
Although diabetic neuropathy is well documented, diabetic myopathy is not, except for descriptions of diabetic patients with muscular weakness thought to be due to metabolic changes in the muscle. Muscle and nerve are dependent on each other for normal structure and function; since the peripheral nerve is damaged in diabetes, one would expect concomitant changes in the muscle. This study examines the cytoarchitecture of diabetic muscle. The extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles from 165‐day‐old C57BL/KsJ db‐m mice were examined using electron microscopy. Morphological analysis of the diabetic EDL revealed that a significant number of the myofibers, examined within the midbelly region of the muscle, exhibited various degrees of degeneration, signs of denervation, and abnormal lipid stores. Both myoneural junctions and muscle spindles showed significant signs of degeneration, denervation, and abnormal structure. Thus the morphologic changes seen could account for the physiologic changes seen in diabetic muscle.