Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Periodic paralysis is featured by occasional episodes of flaccid muscle weakness happening at irregular intervals. The most frequent is hypokalemic periodic paralysis.

Hypokalemic periodic paralysis (hypoPP) is a medical disorder that produces occasional episodes of muscle weakness and an occasional lower than normal level of blood potassium.

HypoPP is one of a group of genetic disorders that involves hyperkalemic periodic paralysis and thyrotoxic periodic paralysis.

HypoPP is the most frequent type of periodic paralysis.

It involves males more often.

Hypokalemic periodic paralysis (hypoPP or hypoKPP) is a rare disorder in which a person has episodes of painless muscle weakness and often paralysis

There are 2 types of hypoPP:

1. Paralytic: This type is most frequent.

In the paralytic type, intermittent, temporary episodes of muscle weakness or paralysis are involved.

2. Myopathy: This type is featured by permanent muscle weakness, fatigue, and pain.

More than 74 percent of older people with hypoPP have myopathy.

One of the first symptoms of myopathy is weakness or paralysis of the legs, induced by exercise.

HypoPP is congenital (happen at birth).

In most cases, it is inherited (passed down through families) as an autosomal dominant disorder.

Only one parent needs to pass the gene linked to this disorder on to their child in order for the child to be involved.

In some patients, the disorder may be the result of a genetic disorder that is not inherited.

Dissimilar to other types of periodic paralysis, people with hypoPP have normal thyroid function.

There is a very low blood level of potassium in these people during episodes of weakness.

This happens from potassium moving from the blood into muscle cells in an abnormal way.

HypoPP attacks are caused by not having sufficient potassium in the body.

As potassium ions dissolve in the body, they take up a positive electric charge.

This charge allows them to conduct electricity and transmit signals throughout the body.

Potassium ions do many tasks in the body, such as transmitting nerve impulses.

One on the most important actions of potassium is to help the muscles contract.

The muscles act by alternating between contracting and relaxing.

This is what moves all the muscles in the body.

People who have hypoPP have mutations in their genes that alter the way these protein channels function.

As a result, they do not have enough of the potassium required for their muscles to contract.

This is what induces the muscle weakness and paralysis.

While the episodic precipitants differ for each person, episodes of paralysis are often caused by:
1. Sugary or starchy foods
2. Salty foods
3. Going too long between meals
4. Eating a very large meal
5. Sleep
6. High levels of physical exertion
7. Temperature extremes
8. Strong emotion
9. Certain medications, such as anesthesia

Attacks normally start in the teen years, but they can occur before age 10.

During attacks the person stays alert.

The weakness or paralysis:
1. Most often happens at the shoulders and hips
2. May also involve the arms, legs, muscles of the eyes, and muscles that assist with breathing and swallowing
3. Happens off and on
4. Most often happens on awakening or after sleep or rest
5. Is rare during exercise, but may be triggered by resting after exercise
6. May be activated by high-carbohydrate, high-salt meals, stress, pregnancy, heavy exercise, and cold

Treatment comprises diet changes and avoiding things that trigger the attacks
Most cases are not life threatening

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis
Chapter 2 Causes

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Feb 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463488850

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis,

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2020 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Hypokalemic periodic paralysis

Periodic paralysis is featured by occasional episodes of flaccid muscle weakness happening at irregular intervals. The most frequent is hypokalemic periodic paralysis.

What is hypokalemic periodic paralysis?

Hypokalemic periodic paralysis (hypoPP) is a medical disorder that produces occasional episodes of muscle weakness and an occasional lower than normal level of blood potassium.

The medical term for low potassium level is hypokalemia.

HypoPP is one of a group of genetic disorders that involves hyperkalemic periodic paralysis and thyrotoxic periodic paralysis.

HypoPP is the most frequent type of periodic paralysis.

It involves males more often.

Hypokalemic periodic paralysis (hypoPP or hypoKPP) is a rare disorder in which a person has episodes of painless muscle weakness and often paralysis.

It is the most frequent of several genetic disorders that cause periodic paralysis.

This type of paralysis is linked with low potassium levels.

About 1 in 100,000 people have hypoPP, and it is 3 to 4 times more frequent in men.

There are 2 types of hypoPP:

1. Paralytic: This type is most frequent.

In the paralytic type, intermittent, temporary episodes of muscle weakness or paralysis are involved.

2. Myopathy: This type is featured by permanent muscle weakness, fatigue, and pain.

More than 74 percent of older people with hypoPP have myopathy.

One of the first symptoms of myopathy is weakness or paralysis of the legs, induced by exercise.

What are the causes of hypokalemic periodic paralysis?

Causes

HypoPP is congenital (happen at birth).

In most cases, it is inherited (passed down through families) as an autosomal dominant disorder.

Only one parent needs to pass the gene linked to this disorder on to their child in order for the child to be involved.

In some patients, the disorder may be the result of a genetic disorder that is not inherited.

Dissimilar to other types of periodic paralysis, people with hypoPP have normal thyroid function.

There is a very low blood level of potassium in these people during