Hemoglobin Dynamics in the Skeletal Muscle of Patients with Malignant Hematopoietic Disease

Impaired oxygen utilization in skeletal muscle potentially contributes to muscle weakness in patients with malignant hematopoietic disease and may explain altered hemodynamic responses to exercise in these patients. We investigated whether changes in hemoglobin parameters in the tibialis anterior muscle in patients with malignant hematopoietic diseases were different from those in age-matched healthy controls and whether these results were associated with a decline in muscle strength. Near-infrared spectroscopy was used during and after a repeated isometric contraction task at 50% of maximal voluntary contraction in 16 patients and 21 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. In the healthy control group, there was a correlation between muscle strength and hemoglobin dynamics, (ΔtHbmean: r = 0.42, p < 0.05; ΔtHbmax: r = 0.575, p < 0.01, respectively) but not in patients with malignant hematopoietic disease. The results of this study may suggest that haemoglobin dynamics during and following exercise were different between patients with malignant hematopoietic disease and healthy controls.