[Myopathy with cerebral white matter abnormality--a case report]

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Muscle Physiology

Background:

• Adult-onset myopathies can present with diverse clinical manifestations.
• Cerebral white matter abnormalities are typically associated with other neurological conditions.

Observation:

• A 45-year-old man presented with progressive leg weakness and atrophy, diagnosed as myopathy.
• Muscle biopsy revealed myogenic changes, but key proteins like dystrophin were normally expressed.
• Neuroimaging identified diffuse white matter abnormalities on T2-weighted MRI.

Findings:

• The patient exhibited myopathy with concurrent asymptomatic cerebral white matter changes.
• Normal expression of dystrophin and related proteins ruled out common muscular dystrophies.
• Prolonged P300 latency on electroencephalogram suggested underlying cognitive or neurological processing alterations.

Implications:

• This case highlights a potential, previously unreported association between myopathy and cerebral white matter abnormalities in adults.
• Further research is warranted to investigate the underlying mechanisms and clinical significance of this co-occurrence.
• Clinicians should consider evaluating for cerebral white matter changes in adult patients diagnosed with myopathy.