Myopathy

Muscle diseases are called myopathies (gr. " muscle suffering" ). Usually is, with the exception of cardiomyopathy, meaning the striated skeletal muscles. Symptom of all myopathies is a weakness of the muscles. For pure myopathies the sensitivity is never affected. To be distinguished from the other myopathies are diseases that are associated as well with a weakness of the muscles. These include diseases of the motor neuron ( such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy ) and diseases of the neuromuscular junction ( eg myasthenia and Lambert- Eaton syndrome).

History and distribution patterns are important for the diagnosis. The clinical suspicion of the presence of myopathy can be corroborated among other things, electromyography and muscle biopsy confirmed in a. Increasingly, molecular genetic studies is a significance in the primary diagnosis to. The group of myopathies is divided myopathies with other underlying diseases and other myopathies according to ICD -10 in primary myopathies. Another important group represent the inflammatory myopathies

Primary myopathies

The primary myopathies diseases are referred to, which are based primarily on a disease of the muscles.

• The muscular dystrophies are a group of primary degenerative muscle diseases. The two most common forms are the dystrophinopathies Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Becker-Kiener type. Other muscular dystrophies are the Gliedergürteldystrophien that fazioskapulohumerale muscular dystrophy, oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy, and the heterogeneous group of congenital muscular dystrophies.

• Myotonic disorders are diseases that are characterized by a pathologically prolonged, tonic muscle tension. This group includes the myotonic dystrophy type 1, myotonic dystrophy type 2, the myotonia congenita Thomsen, the Becker myotonia congenita and paramyotonia congenita the Eulenburg.

• Congenital myopathies are muscular disorders that are already noticeable in the neonatal period. These include conditions such as the central core myopathy, multicore myopathy Myotubuläre myopathy nemaline myopathy, the fingerprint body myopathy and myopathy with congenital Fasertypendisproportion.

• Mitochondrial myopathy is a mitochondrial disease, that is, a disturbance of the energy metabolism of mitochondria, is based. By mutations in mitochondrial DNA, mitochondria are functional, structural, or numerically changed.

Myopathies with other underlying diseases

Myopathies can occur under a variety of other underlying diseases as a symptom, in particular:

• Myopathies, which denotes in endocrine disorders ( such as hyperthyroidism, Cushing's disease or in hyper-or hypoparathyroidism ) occur, as endocrine myopathies.

• Myopathies can occur in metabolic disorders. In particular, disorders of energy metabolism make due to the high energy demand often felt in the muscles. Important diseases are the glycogen storage diseases and the group of lipid storage diseases.

• Nutritive myopathy with deficiency diseases such as selenium deficiency.

Other myopathies

In this group, other are grouped by exogenous substances induced myopathies.

• Drug-induced myopathy than by drugs ( such as by statins, cortisone or colchicine) induced myopathies.

• Alkoholmyopathie in alcohol disease.

• Toxic myopathies are myopathies, which are triggered by damage caused by exogenous toxins ( toxins ).

Inflammatory myopathies

Inflammatory myopathies may occur in the context of autoimmune diseases or be caused by pathogens.

• Autoimmune diseases involving the muscles are polymyositis, dermatomyositis and inclusion body the.
• An example of a pathogen- induced inflammatory myositis is trichinosis.