Under normal circumstances, muscle contraction occurs when electrical impulses travel down descending axons from the brain or spinal cord towards the neuromuscular junction. The axon terminal depolarizes and releases Acetylcholine (ACh), a neurotransmitter, which in turn stimulates the motor end plate (MEP) of the muscle fiber the nerve is innervating. When the MEP depolarizes the muscle fiber releases calcium initiating the process of muscle contraction.With the onset of TM due to thyroxine toxicity, there is evidence to suggest that structural changes in MEPs could lead to muscle fiber degradation, weakness, and fatigue. Research indicates that decreased levels of Acetylcholinesterase AChE, an enzyme that breaks down ACh, was observed within the neuromuscular junction. This decrease in AChE blocks degradation of ACh causing ACh to increasingly stimulate the MEP of the muscle fiber. Over stimulation of MEP could cause more muscle contractions which eventually evoke muscle fiber fatigue, weakness, and finally degradation, which are characteristic symptoms of TM. It is believed this decrease in AChE and MEP structural changes could be the result of over stimulation of thyroxin blocking the axoplasmic flow of trophic factors down the axon terminal especially considering thyroxines role in nervous system growth and metabolism regulation. Other research indicates muscle fiber fatigue, weakness, and degradation associated with TM is the direct action thyroxine has on the muscle fibers themselves. Research suggests thyroxine directly causes a decrease in protein kinase affinity to cAMP within muscle fibers  This causes an increase in cAMP within the muscle fibers since protein kinases are not inactivating cAMP.
Depending on the severity of the TM progression symptoms may take up to a year to completely reverse the damage done by TM. Untreated TM can eventually cause severe respiratory distress or arrest possible leading to death, yet this is very rarely seen. Epidemiology
The onset of TM requires toxic levels of the thyroxine hormone due to overproduction by the thyroid gland. Documented cases have only been diagnosed in conjunction with patients with hyperthyroidism. While hyperthyroidism is more common in women, the development of TM was more common among men with hyperthyroidism. Case studies of patients with diagnosed hyperthyroidism showed that only about half of them complained of symptoms characteristic of TM. Further examination as described above indicated that about 75% of the studied patients showed signs of muscle fiber degeneration. This indicates that either at the time of study some patients were in early stages of TM or the symptoms were insignificant patients. References


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