Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a rare but potentially fatal complication that may develop under general anesthesia (GA) and is rarely reported in elderly patients. We encountered a case of mild-onset MH in a 70-year-old patient who was receiving an elective thoracoscopic pulmorrhaphy and had a history of several GA procedures. Anesthesia was induced with propofol, fentanyl, and rocuronium and m...

The HIV envelope glycoprotein, GP120, increases intracellular Ca2+ concentration and induces degeneration of human and animal neurons in culture. Using patch-clamp recordings and Ca2+ imaging techniques, we have now examined the contribution of intracellular stores of calcium in the effects of GP120. We report that in rat hippocampal neuronal cultures, GP120 induces a dramatic and persistent in...

Nateglinide and mitiglinide (glinides) are characterized as rapid-onset and short-acting insulinotropic agents. Although both compounds do not have a sulfonylurea structure, it has been postulated that insulin secretion is preceded by their binding to Kir6.2/SUR1 complex, and a mechanism of insulin secretion of glinides has been accounted for by this pathway. However, we hypothesized the involv...

Neuromuscular weakness is often found in patients receiving zidovudine therapy due to mitochondrial damage. Effect of zidovudine was evaluated in indirectly and directly stimulated isolated rat phrenic nerve hemidiaphragm preparations, by cumulative dose response curve with square wave pulses, 0.5 ms duration of 2 Hz at every 10 s. To understand the observed effect of zidovudine, interaction st...