No abstract

As in previous studies in cell culture, altered mRNA and/or the functional expression of a specific subunit of the sodium channel (SkM2) was found in biopsy sections of muscle from all 12 persons examined who were susceptible to malignant hyperthermia but in none of the 16 nonsusceptible participants. Human malignant hyperthermia is a heterogeneous disorder, and the down-regulation of SkM2 may be involved in the final common pathway through which mutations in any one of several proteins, including the ryanodine receptor, could render a person susceptible.

No abstract

No abstract

Dantrolene effectively treats malignant hyperthermia (MH) hut the current form, Dantrium, must be dissolved to a 0.33 mg/mL, pH 9.5 solution. This study describes lecithin-coated microcrystal formulations of sodium dantrolene (MC-NaD) and neutral dantrolene (MC-D) which reconstitute to 200 mg/mL within 1 min. In rats, the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of MC-NaD and Dantrium were similar: half-lives of 3.1 h, volume distributions of 0.54 and 0.59 L/kg, and 95% effective dose (ED95) values for depression of skeletal muscle twitch height (ED95T) of 2.6 +/- 0.7 and 2.8 +/- 0.5 mg/kg. In swine, the ED95T values for MC-NaD and Dantrium were also similar (2.8 +/- 0.4 vs 2.7 +/- 0.6 mg/kg), but MC-D and Dantrium were only similar at doses more than 2.5 mg/kg (ED95T: 3.5 +/- 0.4 vs 2.7 +/- 0.5 mg/kg). In susceptible swine, MC-NaD successfully treated five of six MH episodes and prevented MH in three of four swine. However, MC-NaD caused marked pulmonary hypertension in swine, while MC-D caused only a mild response that was eliminated by filtration. Likewise, MC-D caused no pulmonary response in dogs. These observations suggest that MC-D has potential to improve the treatment of MH.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract