, 2000). In addition, some anesthesia drugs trigger a sudden increase in the amount of calcium inside the skeletal muscle cells in malignant hyperthermia cases, a process that leads to excessive activation of the body's metabolism (Bogner, 2004).
This point is also made by Murray (1987), who reports that the symptoms of malignant hyperthermia, particularly hyperpyrexia and muscular rigidity, which were first described fully in 1962, is a pharmacogenetic myopathy (e.g., a reaction to halogenated, inhalational anesthetic agents and depolarizing muscle relaxants); physical and emotional stress have been cited as possible triggers for malignant hyperthermia (Murray, 1987). According to this author, laboratory abnormalities in malignant hyperthermia include: (a) metabolic acidosis, (b) massive elevations in serum of muscle enzymes, - low levels of calcium or magnesium electrolytes, (d) tachycardia, (e) muscular rigidity, and (f) enzyme shifts (Britt, 1979; Levenson, 1985 cited in Murray, 1987 at p. 40). An individual's susceptibility to the condition can be diagnosed by an exaggerated response of muscle tissue when exposed to caffeine in vitro (Murray, 1987; Nehlig, 2004; Larch, 1989).
References
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Milunsky, a. (2001). Your genetic destiny: Know your genes, secure your health, and save your life. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books.
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Nehlig, a. (2004). Coffee, tea, chocolate, and the brain. Boca Raton, FL: Routledge.
What is malignant hyperthermia? (2007). Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States. Retrieved July 4, 2007 at http://www.mhaus.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/OnlineBrochures.Display/BrochurePK/8AABF3FB-13B0-430F-BE20FB32516 B02D6.cfm.
