Electromyographic recording and muscle biopsy in lepromatous leprosy

The aim of this study was to detect early muscular changes in lepromatous leprosy using simultaneously electromyography and muscle biopsy. In 13 subjects a single clinically normal muscle innervated by the popliteal nerve was studied. Three were found to be normal. All the others were electromyographically denervated. Histopathologic findings included only 3 cases of fascicular atrophy. In 8 cases inflammatory nodules were observed in the connective tissue of the muscle and acid-fast bacilli were present in Virchow cells in 5. In only one patient were intact acid-fast bacilli found in muscle cells. It was concluded that electromyography was the better method of detecting early denervation, while muscle biopsy was the better examination to detect "lepromatous myositis". In practice these techniques are complementary in the study of muscle data in lepromatous leprosy.