In this research programme supervised by Professor Anthony J Sargeant we were able to document some of the effects of training on the muscles of spinal cord injured people.
Relatively high levels of MHC type I were found in three subjects and this corresponded with a high degree of fusion in 10-Hz force responses (r=0.88). Fatigability was related to the activity of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) (r=0.79). Furthermore, some differentiation between fibre types in terms of metabolic properties were present, with type I fibres expressing the highest levels of SDH and lowest levels of alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase. After training, SDH activity increased by 76+/-26% but fibre diameter and MHC expression remained unchanged. The results indicate that expression of contractile proteins and metabolic properties seem to underlie the relatively normal functional muscle characteristics observed in some paralysed muscles. Furthermore, training-induced changes in fatigue resistance seem to arise, in part, from an improved oxidative capacity