[Nemalinic myopathy with intracytoplasmic spheroid bodies: report of a case]

Abstract

The authors report the case of a female patient, 18 years of age, with slowly progressing weakness in upper and lower limbs since childhood. There were no significant antecedents. The neurologic examination showed mild proximal and distal motor deficit with a slight muscular retraction at the level of shoulders, elbows, coxofemural joints, knees and ankles; muscular hypotrophy in the legs and feet; reflexes were present and sensitivity was normal. Creatinephosphokinase showed an increase of one and a half times the normal value. Electroneuromyography: decrease in the amplitude and duration of action potentials and excessive recruitment of motor units, compatible with a primary muscular disease. A muscle biopsy with frozen sections (HE, Gomori, PAS, ATPases, NADH, SDH, acid and alcaline phosphatases, cytochrome oxidase and Oil-red-o) revealed a primary muscular disease characterized by the presence of nemalinic and intracytoplasmic spheroid bodies. Nemalinic bodies have been described with different structural abnormalities of muscle fibers; however, such association is rare. This is the second case report of concomitant occurrence of nemalinic and spheroid bodies.