Early immobilization of hindleg muscles of dystrophic XXXX : short-term and long-term effects.

@entity19 @entity291 @entity121 @entity194
Hindleg muscles of normal and dystrophic @entity19 were immobilized unilaterally early during the postnatal period. After 1 week the casts were removed. Of one group of @entity19 hindleg muscles were processed for histopathological and morphometrical evaluation at the end of the immobilization period. Hindlegs of other groups of @entity19 were remobilized for various periods of time before the muscles were examined. In normal @entity19 immobilization of @entity291 muscles that were fixed in a shortened position resulted in @entity194 of about 35% compared with untreated muscles. This was accompanied by a reduction in fibre number of about 15%. The antagonists that had been fixed extended, did not show those effects. Immobilization of @entity121 minimized pathology in both agonists and antagonists, although @entity194 developed. Upon remobilization the normal muscles resumed postnatal development. They did not deviate from normal, untreated muscles at the age of 3.5 months. Upon remobilization of @entity121 pathology developed, but less severely than during the second and third postnatal week in untreated @entity121 . Significant differences in morphometrical parameters compared with untreated @entity121 were observed during the 3 months remobilization period studied.
