A long-term paraplegic man presented exclusively (>99%) myosin heavy chain I (MHC I) in the tibialis anterior muscle (TA). This was coupled to a slow speed of contraction, a high resistance to fatigue, and a rapid resynthesis of phosphocreatine after an electrically evoked fatiguing contraction when compared with the TA muscles of 9 other paraplegic individuals. In contrast, the MHC composition of his vastus lateralis, gastrocnemius, and soleus muscles was that expected of a muscle from a spinal cord injured individual. This information may be of clinical importance in terms of the expected morphological and functional adaptations of skeletal muscle to different types of electrical stimulation therapy.
Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.