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Biomedical subjects

D H VanDyke

Publications and source records attributed to D H VanDyke.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1977

Lightning-strike disaster among children.

A lightning strike involving 47 children is described. Four cases demonstrate the most common and serious resulting pathology: burns, myocardial infarction, and neurological symptoms varying from feelings of fear and nightmares to brain death. The pathophysiology of lightning injury is described. The importance of immediate resuscitation of the victim who appears dead after a lightning strike is emphasized, and procedures to prevent lighting injury are presented.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Hereditary myokymia and periodic ataxia.

A kindred in which at least 11 individuals in 3 consecutive generations have continuous muscle movement, i.e., myokymia, and periodic ataxia, has been studied. Three patients, a 24-year-old woman, her 4-year-old son and her 27-year-old sister, have been studied in detail. The disorder is inherited as an autosomal-dominant trait and presents in early childhood with attacks of ataxia of 1-2 min in duration, with associated jerking movements of the head, arms and legs. Attacks are provoked by abrupt postural change, emotional stimulus, and caloric-vestibular stimulation. At the age of 12 years approximately, facial and extremity myokymia appears. Physical findings include large calves, normal muscle strength and widespread myokymia of face, hands, arms and legs with a hand posture resembling carpopedal spasm. EMG studies at rest showed continuous spontaneous activity of otherwise normal motor units. Nerve conduction velocities were normal. Gastrocnemius biopsy in 2 patients showed fiber type grouping and small angular fibers, and was consistent with denervation. Histographic analysis of the biopsies demonstrated enlargement of both fiber types, particularly of Type I fibers. These findings are consistent with chronic denervation and an abnormality of motor neuron population or firing. The myokymia described here is of interest not only because of its genetic association with a movement disorder, but also because the muscle findings support a peripheral basis for the muscle movements.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Hereditary carnitine deficiency of muscle.

An eight-year-old boy with slowly progressive muscle weakness was found to have Oil red O positive vacuoles in predominanty type i muscle fibers. Subsequent studies demonstrated markedly reduced skeletal muscle carnitine (0.24 mumoles per gram; normal 1.64 to 3.34). Serum carnitine was normal. Although both parents were clinically normal, muscle carnitine levels were low in both (mother 0.60; father 0.90 mumoles). There was no clinical evidence of cardiac disease but the patient had ventricular hypertrophy by electrocardiography, vectorcardiography, and echocardiography. Treatment with prednisone resulted in clinical improvement but no change in muscle histology. Our studies suggest that the carnitine deficiency of muscle in this case may be due to impaired carnitine entry into muscle and that this form of disease can be inherited as an autosomal recessive disorder.

Aspartate Aminotransferases↗