Calcium uptake and bioelectrical activity of denervated and myotonic muscle.

Calcium uptake on muscle microsomal fraction has been investigated in connection with bioelectrical activity in some muscle diseases. The findings showed a significant increase of calcium uptake in denervated muscle, which exhibited spontaneous bioelectrical activity (fibrillations). In myotonias, a low calcium uptake was peculiar to Steinert's disease but not to myotonia congenita. In other muscle diseases, such as progressive muscular dystrophy (Duchenne's type) or Charcot-Marie-Tooth's disease, the ability of muscle microsomal fraction to bind calcium was not changed. Starting with the key role of calcium in excitation-contraction coupling, the implications of calcium uptake disturbances in muscle electrogenesis are discussed.