Alcoholic Myopathy

MANY agents, including drugs and alcohol, can cause rhabdomyopathy. 1 Alcoholic myopathy may have a varied presentation and is classified as acute, subacute, or chronic. 2-6 Acute or subacute alcoholic myopathy is related to the ingestion of excessive amounts of alcohol and generally characterized by diffuse or focal tenderness and muscle cramps. 2-6 The serum creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) activity is elevated, and muscle biopsy specimens frequently show a nonspecific pattern with degeneration and regeneration of muscle fibers. 2-7 Chronic alcoholic myopathy is characterized by proximal muscle weakness with minimal, nonspecific changes on muscle biopsy specimens. 2,3,5 Even in healthy volunteers receiving a nutritious diet supplemented with vitamins, 225 g of alcohol ingested daily for three weeks caused slight elevations in serum CPK activity and minimal but definite abnormalities on muscle biopsy specimens. 8 We present a case of a young man with a puzzling myopathy. After alengthy examination with nonspecific findings, a diagnostic alcohol challenge disclosed