In New Hampshire chickens, the primary clinical symptom of dystrophy is limitation of wing motility. Examination of the brachial-level motor unit in chick embryos homozygous for dystrophy reveals abnormalities in both muscular and neural components. Wing motility in these embryos is abnormal as early as six days, and there is a corresponding lack of differentiation of the pectoralis major muscle. The findings suggest that delayed development of brachial-level neuronal pathways is responsible for the decreased wing motility and early degeneration of the pectoral muscle.
New Hampshire chickens, homozygous for inherited muscular dystrophy, display clinical manifestations at an early age. A fine structural examination of embryos from this strain shows marked degenerative changes four days prior to hatching. The Z bands appear to dissolve progressively to the point where finally the myofibrils become uniformly dense with no detectable banding patterns.
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