Malignant hyperthermia: diagnosis, treatment and investigations of a skeletal muscle lesion.

A center for the diagnosis and research for malignant hyperthermia is established within the Research Division of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas. In this Research Conference we define malignant hyperthermia, present its brief history, and describe the diagnostic procedures and directions of research in our laboratory. Although rare in occurrence, malignant hyperthermia is a significant disease entity because it (a) has a high morbidity and mortality; (b) is of genetic basis; and (c) for lack of a simple diagnostic test, it's occurrence is unexpected. The primary defect appears to occur in skeletal muscle, thus the diagnostic test and research efforts center upon abnormal pharmacologic and biochemical responses of skeletal muscle from affected subjects.