Mechanical and contractile properties of tibialis anterior (TA) muscles from X-linked muscular dystrophic (mdx) mutant mice at different stages of development are compared to those of muscles from normal control animals. There is no difference between the tension output, speeds of contraction and relaxation, and weight of TA muscles from mutant adults and normal control animals. However, it is found that in 3-4-week-old mutant animals, tension output and muscle weight are very much reduced, and half relaxation time is prolonged. Thus, during this stage of development, muscles from mdx mice do not function properly. Histological examination of these muscles provides further evidence that, in these animals, rapid muscle destruction occurs at a particular time of development and that it is followed by complete recovery. This new mutant therefore presents an interesting case of muscle destruction and rapid regeneration. However, it is not an adequate model for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

An association has been reported between chronic infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae and the severity of asthma, and uncontrolled observations have suggested that treatment with antibiotics active against C. pneumoniae leads to an improvement in asthma control. We studied the effect of roxithromycin in subjects with asthma and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to C. pneumoniae > or = 1:64 and/or IgA antibodies > or = 1:16. A total of 232 subjects, from Australia, New Zealand, Italy, or Argentina, were randomized to 6 wk of treatment with roxithromycin 150 mg twice a day or placebo. At the end of 6 wk, the increase from baseline in evening peak expiratory flow (PEF) was 15 L/min with roxithromycin and 3 L/min with placebo (p = 0.02). With morning PEF, the increase was 14 L/min with roxithromycin and 8 L/min with placebo (NS). In the Australasian population, the increase in morning PEF was 18 L/min and 4 L/min, respectively (p = 0.04). At 3 mo and 6 mo after the end of treatment, differences between the two groups were smaller and not significant. Six weeks of treatment with roxithromycin led to improvements in asthma control but the benefit was not sustained. Further studies are necessary to determine whether the lack of sustained benefit is due to failure to eradicate C. pneumoniae.