[Distal myopathies: critical study and report on one case (author's transl)]

Reservations exist as to the validity of the concept of distal myopathies, and confirmed cases of this affection have rarely been reported. A scandinavian patient with the probable familial type of the disorder was studied by electrophysiological and histological examinations. Clinical criteria and differential diagnosis of this variety of muscular dystrophy are discussed, and a critical review of cases reported in the literature as distal myopathies is conducted. Very few of them are able to stand up to this criticism.