title: Polyglucosan bodies in intramuscular nerves: Association with muscle fiber denervation atrophy.
abstract: Polyglucosan bodies (PB) in the intramuscular nerves have been rarely studied, and their presence particularly in subjects without neurologic disorders has been thought to be age-related. We examined, by using light and electron microscopy, 204 consecutive muscle biopsies. PB was found in 5 quadriceps intramuscular nerves (2.45% of all biopsies). All 5 quadriceps containing PB exhibited varying degrees of muscle fiber denervation atrophy with or without fiber type grouping. These quadriceps with PB, compared with the other 119 quadriceps without PB, showed a significantly greater association with muscle fiber denervation atrophy (5/5 versus 55/119; p=0.02, by two-tailed Fisher's exact test), for which aging is not confounding. Electron microscopy identified PB in intramuscular nerve myelinated fibers along with ongoing degenerative changes. Our observation suggests that PB in intramuscular nerves may be pathologic and associated with muscle fiber denervation atrophy.
authors.affiliation: Neuropathology Section, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: jlu5@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Jian-Qiang
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine/Neurology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Cecile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Phan
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine/Neurology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zochodne
authors.affiliation: Neuromuscular Center, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Chuanzhu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005936:Glucans / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009121:Muscle Denervation; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D009133:Muscular Atrophy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D005936:Glucans; C083094:polyglucosan
keywords: Aging; Intramuscular nerve; Muscle fiber denervation atrophy; Nerve fiber degeneration; Polyglucosan bodies