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Electrocardiographic, biochemical, and morphologic abnormalities in dystrophic hamsters with cardiomyopathy
Author(s) -
Bhattacharya Syamal K.,
Crawford Alice J.,
Pate James W.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.880100211
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiomyopathy , muscular dystrophy , muscle hypertrophy , creatine kinase , histopathology , endocrinology , dystrophy , duchenne muscular dystrophy , cardiology , pathology , heart failure
Electrocardiographic (EKG) changes were investigated in 7‐month‐old dystrophic hamsters (DH) with cardiomyopathy and were correlated with biochemical and histologic aberrations. Abnormally tall R‐I and R‐aVL amplitudes, deep S‐III and S‐aVR waves, and elongated PR‐I, QT‐I, and QRS‐I intervals (all at P <0.0001) were noted in DH compared with normal hamsters. These EKG changes are similar to those seen in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and support cardiac hypertrophy ( P < 0.001) in DH. Excessive intracellular calcium accumulation in the heart ( P < 0.0001), diaphragm ( P < 0.001), and rectus femoris ( P < 0.05), and elevated plasma creatine kinase concentrations ( P < 0.001) were also noted in DH. Histopathology in the cardiac and skeletal muscles of DH included fatty infiltration, centronucleation, and sporadic necrosis with calcium deposition. Observed EKG abnormalities, biochemical alterations, and histological aberrations in the cardiac and skeletal muscles of DH are strikingly similar to those reported in DMD and thus substantiate the relevance of DH as a suitable model for the study of muscular dystrophy and cardiac hypertrophy.