Quantitative analysis of nuclear population in muscle from malnourished and recovered children

Muscle tissue obtained by needle biopsy from the quadriceps femoris of eight malnourished and eight recovered children were examined histologically. In both groups about two-thirds of the total nuclear count was due to muscle nuclei. The remaining one-third was made up of vascular, nerve, and interstitial cells and isolated nuclei in similar proportions in the two groups. A significantly greater percentage of muscle nuclei consisted of myogenic cells in recovered children as compared to malnourished children (20.7 +/- 6.4 vs. 2.6 +/- 1.4%).