Pharmacogenomics
-
Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a pharmacogenetic disorder triggered by volatile anesthetics or depolarizing muscle relaxants in predisposed individuals. Exercise or stress-induced MH episodes, in the absence of any obvious pharmacological trigger, have been reported, but these are rare. ⋯ The results of such studies have identified commonalities in functional affects of mutations, and also uncovered unexpected complexities in both the structure and function of the skeletal muscle calcium-release channel. The following review is an attempt to provide a summary of the background to current MH research, and highlight some recent advances in our knowledge of the molecular basis of the phenotypic expression of this disorder.