MYOPATHY AND PRIMARY ALDOSTERONISM - ELECTRON-MICROSCOPIC STUDY

We studied two patients with myopathy and primary aldosteronism. Necrosis and vacuolation of muscle fibers were found on light microscopy. Ultrastructurally, the necrotic areas were characterized by dissolution of myofilaments with degenerative vacuoles. In muscle fibers that did not show necrosis, there were membranebound vacuoles, dilation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, widening of the T-system, and a “honeycomb” appearance of T-tubules. These ultrastructural features suggest that the necrosis of muscle fibers may originate from membrane vulnerability of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and the T-system. © 1979 American Academy of Neurology.