Effect of subnutrition on normalized muscle force and relaxation rate in human subjects using voluntary contractions.

1. Muscle weakness and wasting are well-known consequences of subnutrition, but there have been no published comparisons of these variables in a single muscle or muscle group. We report voluntary force measurements of adductor pollicis muscle in 11 subnourished patients normalized for their cross-sectional areas. We also report normalized relaxation rates of these contractions and the results are compared with those obtained in 40 healthy normally nourished subjects. 2. Normalized muscle force was no different in the subnourished group. However, relaxation rate was significantly slower than in the control group.