The nature of virus-like particles in the paraxial muscles of idiopathic scoliosis.

Virus-like particles (VLP) have been identified by electronmicroscopy in the skeletal muscles (paraxials) of six cases of idiopathic scoliosis. These particles closely resembled VLP reported in the skeletal muscles in other conditions, e.g. Reye's syndrome, polymyositis, malignant hyperthermia, and chronic myopathy. We have shown by specific staining that these structures are composed of glycogen in a crystalline form. Using Coxsackie B infected tissue culture cells as a control we have shown that these viruses, which are of similar shape and size to the VLP, were unstained using this specific staining method.