Muscle hypertrophy ue to scarring of the 51 nerve root

Segmental muscle enlargement occurs in a variety of neurogenic conditions. We present a patient with calf hypertrophy, likely produced by continuous neuromuscular irritability and compensatory type 1 and type 2 muscle fiber hypertrophy. The underlying lesion of the SI nerve root was caused by scarring, which could be demonstrated by Cadolinum enhanced, fat saturated magnetic resonance imaging. Thus, the application of this technique is recommended in otherwise etiologically unclear cases of neurogenic muscular lesions in order to detect chronic nerve root pathology. [Neurol Res 2000; 22: 469-472]