Corticosteroid therapy does not alter the threshold for contraction-induced injury in dystrophic (mdx) mouse diaphragm

Muscle Nerve. 1998 Mar;21(3):394-7. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4598(199803)21:3<394::aid-mus14>3.0.co;2-#.

Abstract

The effects of methylprednisolone therapy on the susceptibility of dystrophin-deficient myofibers to contraction-induced injury were evaluated in the mdx mouse diaphragm model of Duchenne dystrophy. Mdx myofibers were abnormally vulnerable to injury induced by high-stress eccentric contractions. However, methylprednisolone therapy did not significantly alter the degree of contraction-induced injury. These data suggest that beneficial effects of corticosteroid therapy in Duchenne dystrophy are unlikely to be related to a change in the threshold for contraction-induced myofiber damage.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adrenal Cortex Hormones / therapeutic use*
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Animals
  • Diaphragm
  • Methylprednisolone / therapeutic use*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Inbred mdx
  • Muscle Contraction / drug effects
  • Muscle Contraction / physiology*
  • Muscle, Skeletal / drug effects
  • Muscle, Skeletal / injuries*
  • Muscle, Skeletal / pathology
  • Muscular Dystrophy, Animal / drug therapy*
  • Muscular Dystrophy, Animal / physiopathology*

Substances

  • Adrenal Cortex Hormones
  • Methylprednisolone