Patient

The Patient and Caretakers Section

Meet Our Patients

Irm's Story

The PPI's Client Services Representative in The Netherlands is Irm. Irm and her son were clinically diagnosed with HypoKPP-plus in Germany in September 2011, but she has had symptoms since she was a young child. At the age of 7, she told her parents, “My head is awake but my body still sleeps”. 

ECG Features in ATS Patients With KCNJ2 Mutations

Electrocardiographic Features in Andersen-Tawil Syndrome
Patients With KCNJ2 Mutations

Characteristic T-U–Wave Patterns Predict the KCNJ2 Genotype

Li Zhang, MD; D. Woodrow Benson, MD, PhD; Martin Tristani-Firouzi, MD; Louis J. Ptacek, MD;
Rabi Tawil, MD; Peter J. Schwartz, MD; Alfred L. George, MD; Minoru Horie, MD, PhD;
Gregor Andelfinger, MD; Gregory L. Snow, PhD; Ying-Hui Fu, PhD;
Michael J. Ackerman, MD, PhD; G. Michael Vincent, MD

How is periodic paralysis diagnosed?

Do you suspect that you might have periodic paralysis? The periodic paralyses are a rare group of disorders and there are many conditions which cause an imbalance in serum potassium. So how does the doctor tell the difference between paralysis or weakness caused by an ion channelopathy and any of the other numerous disorders, conditions and reactions which might produce the same symptoms?

Management Strategies For Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis

In 2009 Professor Dr. Frank Lehmann-Horn of Ulm University, Ulm Germany, gave a presentation on managing hypokalemic periodic paralysis at the Periodic Paralysis Association's conference held in Orlando Florida. This presentation contained so much valuable information in such a compact and understandable format that we asked Dr. Lehmann-Horn for his permission to include it on our website, for the benefit of physicians and patients.

Hospital Management Guidelines for Thyrotoxic Periodic Paralysis Patients

Hospital Management Guidelines for Thyrotoxic Periodic Paralysis Patients

Patient's Name:

Birthdate: ________Height: _______Weight: _______

Address:

Primary Physician:

Emergency contact:  Your emergency contact should be someone who can speak for you when you cannot advocate for yourself.
Name:                                                                               Relationship:
home phone#                                         cell #                            FAX:

Saliva K+ Calculator

Emergency Care for an Attack of Andersen-Tawil Syndrome

First Actions:

  • Respiratory and cardiac arrest are possible.
  • Call for Cardiac Monitoring/EKG
  • Draw electrolytes to determine serum K+
  • Provide 02 as thimble may not reflect 02 saturation due to cardiac dilitation
  • Lie patient in coma position to avoid aspiration.

Anesthesia in Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis

Provided by Frank Lehmann-Horn MD, PhD

From
Lehmann-Horn F, Rüdel R, Jurkat-Rott K. Chapter 46: Nondystrophic myotonias and periodic paralyses. In: Myology, edited by AG Engel, C Franzini-Armstrong. McGraw-Hill, New York, 3rd edition, 2004, pp. 1257-1300.
and
Klingler W, Lehmann-Horn, Jurkat-Rott K. Complications of anesthesia in neuromuscular disorders. Neuromuscular Disord, 15:195-206, 2005.

Letters from the Front Lines

There are times when a member says just the right thing, producing a post which is simply too good to let slide into obscurity. This is one of those posts;
--- 
Hi "A",

Emergency Treatment of Thyrotoxic Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis

 

A True Endocrine Emergency

Patients with Thyrotoxic Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis typically present at the ER with an acute episode of paralysis involving the muscles of the extremities and limb girdles. The lower limbs are more frequently and severely involved than the upper. Weakness may be asymmetrical. Proximal strength is more severely impaired than distal strength. Respiratory and cardiac arrest are possible. Lie patient in coma position to avoid aspiration. 

Cardiac Signs

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