To the Editor: We read with great interest the study by Ikeda et al.1 and the accompanying editorial.2 It is now increasingly recognized that muscle relaxants are beneficial in overcoming difficult mask ventilation in adults.2–4 However, both current papers are lacking a sufficient discussion of the reasons why muscle relaxation improves difficult mask ventilation. This can primarily be deduced...

Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) attacks are characterized as recurrent, transient episodes of muscle weakness that range from mild weakness to complete flaccid paralysis. Episodes of weakness are accompanied by hypokalemia, which left untreated can lead to life-threatening arrhythmias (6). In this case study, we followed a patient's potassium levels analyzing how they correlate with electro...

Reanimation of longstanding facial paralysis is a difficult clinical problem commonly tackled with the method of pedicled muscle flap transfer. The temporalis muscle has been the most popular. In the past, one common problem was that the flap was not long enough to reach parts of the face distant from the affected area. To overcome this disadvantage, we have devised a flap consisting of the ped...

Aldicarb treatment causes an accumulation of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft of the neuromuscular junction, resulting in sustained muscle activation and eventually paralysis. Aldicarb-induced paralysis assay is an easy and fast method to determine whether synaptic transmission of a C. elegans mutant of interest is altered. This assay is based on the correlation of the rate of neurotransmitt...

Temporary or permanent vocal cord paralysis caused by recurrent laryngeal nerve injury is one of the relatively common and serious complications thyroid surgery. At same time, there are many reasons for injury. Therefore, should be paid attention to before, during after A 51-year-old woman was diagnosed with left papillary carcinoma. Unfortunately, patient had a history hoarseness following pat...

Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis is a rare complication of hyperthyroidism, characterized by severe hypokalemia and episodes of skeletal muscle paralysis. Although it is commonly described in adult East Asian men, TPP has been reported in individuals of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. We describe the case of a young adult Hispanic male who presented to a Pediatric Emergency Department with paraly...

Over 60 mutations of SCN4A encoding the NaV1.4 sodium channel of skeletal muscle have been identified in patients with myotonia, periodic paralysis, myasthenia, or congenital myopathy. Most mutations are missense with gain-of-function defects that cause susceptibility to myotonia or periodic paralysis. Loss-of-function from enhanced inactivation or null alleles is rare and has been associated w...

One of the most toxic effects of organophosphate (OP) poisoning has been the paralysis of skeletal muscles that can lead to paralysis of respiratory muscles and death. However, oximes are the only antidotes available to reverse or prevent such toxic effects of OP insecticides and nerve chemical warfare agents. In the present research work, the effect of different concentrations of paraoxon (as ...

Bilateral vocal fold paralysis (BVCP) is a life threatening condition and appears to be a good candidate for therapy using functional electrical stimulation (FES). Developing a working FES system has been technically difficult due to the inaccessible location and small size of the sole arytenoid abductor, the posterior cricoarytenoid (PCA) muscle. A naturally-occurring disease in horses shares ...

Mutations of skeletal muscle sodium channel a subunit (SCN4A) gene are associated with a group of allelic diseases, including periodic paralysis, paramyotonia congenital, sodium channel myotonia, and congenital myasthenic syndrome. Periodic paralysis is characterized by episodic attacks of flaccid weakness with the fluctuation of serum potassium, which are usually limited to skeletal muscles ow...