The effect of the myotoxic agent iodoacetate on dystrophic mice 129/Re

Three groups of dystrophic and non-dystrophic mice 129/Re were used for studying the effect of the myotoxic agent iodoacetate on dystrophic muscle. The mice of the first group were given intramuscular injections of iodoacetate. The mice of the second group were injected with normal saline and the third group was maintained as untreated controls. The most severe histopathological changes were found in the dystrophic mice treated with iodoacetate. The non-dystrophic mice of the same group showed a significant increase in the number of internal nuclei. Moderate changes were observed in saline-treated dystrophic controls. There was no significant decrease in the life expectancy in any of the groups. The body weight of dystrophic mice was reduced throughout the experiment. On the contrary the non-dystrophic group showed an increased in weight, regardless of the treatment. The aggravation of the histopathological changes of dystrophic mice by iodoacetate would probably give support to the cyclical necrosis/abnormal regeneration theory of pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy.