title: Neurogenic muscle hypertrophy.
abstract: We report the case of a 48-year-old man who presented with left calf hypertrophy 6 years after an episode of left S1 sciatica related to a herniated disk. Magnetic resonance imaging disclosed muscle hypertrophy. Electromyography showed left S1 radiculopathy with abnormal spontaneous muscle activity. Neurogenic muscle hypertrophy is a rare phenomenon that is chiefly seen when denervation occurs slowly and gradually. The typical patient is a middle-aged man who has a history of S1 radiculopathy. The soleus muscle is the main site of involvement. The pathophysiology is unclear but may involve type I fiber hypertrophy in response to the complex repetitive discharges recorded by electromyography. The natural history of neurogenic muscle hypertrophy is incompletely understood.
authors.affiliation: Service de Rhumatologie, CHU Reims, 45 rue Cognacq Jay, 51 092 Reims cedex, France. charlot_isabelle@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Charlot-Lambrecht
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brochot
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Noblet
authors.forename: Coralie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Varoquier
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Eschard
mesh_terms: D004576:Electromyography; D006801:Humans; D006984:Hypertrophy / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation* / Q000473:pathology*; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000150:complications