Abstract

Muscle biopsies from two AIDS patients (stage III-IV) with proximal muscular weakness and myalgias were studied by means of transmission electron microscopy. Intramuscular nerve twig, terminal axon, and postsynaptic region alterations were found. They included axonolysis and demyelination, vacuolation and retraction of the terminal axon and poor development of the postsynaptic membrane. This study confirms the existence of neurogenic factors in AIDS myopathy.