HYPP - definition, please?

[Inyureye]

I have shamelessly read comments about HYPP and picked up on that it is a genetic condition but missed, and never asked for, a description of the symdrome and how it works. If anyone feels like giving a synopsis paragraph, I would be grateful. Oh. I suppose I couldlook it up in the online Merk manual, couldn't I, and not be "lazy" and ask others to do the work for me! So I am posting this anyway, but I will look it up so I can eddycate meself. Any comments, appreciated.

[lisa]

hyperkalemic periodic paralysis. This genetic condition is a potassium processing problem in the muscle tissue.It is the conective muscle tissue that cannot process potassium. this is what causes the "'ATTACKS"' muscle twitching than can be mild to severe. glucose can help stop or control the attacks helping the body to transport the potassium. thus the need to keep karo syrup on hand and to administer it orally at the slightest tremmor. I realize this explanation is extremely simplified but i think it gets the point across. one of the reason it can kill a horse is the heart is muscle and the diaphram for breathing is also a muscle tissue. A severe attack can stop the heart and or breathing. this disease is also found in humans. and is an inherited trait as well.
lisa

[susanh]

Symptoms of an attack: not only muscle tremors that may resemble snakes winding across the sides of the body from shoulders back, but for my mare: low head set, I mean really low with general apathy. Refusal to eat. Sudden cold sweat (I hate to see this one as it usually means the attack is going to be too ongoing to stop without a vet). Have seen her completely collapse after the sudden cold sweat. Scared the He--! out of me. Things that can set off an attack: heat, tranport, wrong diet, lack of exercise, stressful situations, hormonal fluctuations, tranqing or general anathesia. What's happening inside the horse: sodium channels in the muscle are not working properly-causing the twithing which lets the potassium leak from the muscles into the bloodstream. Too much potassium= onset of attack. I haven't actually read anything recently on this so there's probably alot better info out there.

[mcc4ever]

Some of my favorite info sites on this...I was going to cut and paste from them but they get lengthy, so here are links:

http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/~lvmillon/hypp/hypp.html

http://www.aqha.com/association/registration/hypp.html

http://www.bringinglighttohypp.org/

Obviously UC Davis has the most in depth info, AQHA has the "well we have to comment on this sometime..." Info, and then I added an independent organization which is pretty biased, but has a lot of information.

[TX-WI]

http://nnalliance.org/

GOOD SITE FOR READING UP ON HyPP.
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gdh

I've started an exercise program.
I do 20 sit-ups each morning.
That may not sound like a lot, but you can only hit that snooze button so many times