[Peripheral nerve lesions in chloroquine-induced neuromyopathies]

Two cases of chloroquine-induced neuromyopathy are described. The clinical picture is a proximal weakness of lower limbs in one case, and a sensory peripheral neuropathy in the other. Vacuolar changes were not found in muscle biopsies, but electron microscopic studies revealed characteristic dense and lamellated inclusion bodies in muscle fibers and endothelial cells. Sural nerve biopsies were performed in each case. There was a severe loss of myelinated fibers in one. Dense and lamellated inclusions were found in schwann cells, perineural and endothelial cells. In a literature review, only one case with sural nerve biopsy is found in human pathology of chloroquine neuromyopathy.