Alcoholic Myopathy
Diagnosis by Alcohol Challenge
- Reynold Spector, MD;
- Aswini Choudhury, MD;
- Pasquale Cancilla, MD;
- Robert Lakin, MD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
MANY agents, including drugs and alcohol, can cause rhabdomyopathy.1 Alcoholic myopathy may have a varied presentation and is classified as acute, subacute, or chronic.2-6 Acute or subacute alcoholic myopathy is related to the ingestion of excessive amounts of alcohol and generally characterized by diffuse or focal tenderness and muscle cramps.2-6 The serum creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) activity is elevated, and muscle biopsy specimens frequently show a nonspecific pattern with degeneration and regeneration of muscle fibers.2-7 Chronic alcoholic myopathy is characterized by proximal muscle weakness with minimal, nonspecific changes on muscle biopsy specimens.2,3,5 Even in healthy volunteers receiving a nutritious diet supplemented with vitamins, 225 g of alcohol ingested daily for three weeks caused slight elevations in serum CPK activity and minimal but definite abnormalities on muscle biopsy specimens.8
We present a case of a young man with a puzzling myopathy. After a
lengthy examination with nonspecific findings, a diagnostic alcohol challenge disclosed
Footnotes
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Reprint requests to Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals, Iowa City, IA 52242 (Dr Spector).
