It was suggested for a long time that the abnormality of autonomic nervous system was one of the pathogenesis of progressive muscular dystrophy(PMD)by Kure and Okinaka.
We found clinical, morphological and histochemical changes in the skeletal muscle of the infant dogs suffered from muscular dystrophy-like state, caused by cervical sympathetic gangiionectomy, which were about the same with those of PMD.
And it was attempted to observe the pattern of autonomic nerve function by several agents on about 60 cases of PMD (Duchenne type, 7∼18 years old). In pilocarpine test, 91.5% of the cases were revealed positive reaction (+1ff), and in mecholyl test, many cases (44.4%) belonged to S type (sympathetic hyperreactor) and none of P type (sympathetic hyporeactor).