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JAMES C. SISSON, M.D.; WILLIAM H. BEIERWALTES, M.D.; GEORGE H. KOEPKE, M.D.; KENNETH R. MAGEE, M.D.

Arch Intern Med. 1962;110(3):323-327.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Myotonia is a phenomenon characterized by a tonic preservation of muscular contraction.¹ It is elicited by a voluntary forceful contraction or by mechanical percussion of the muscle. In Thomsen's disease (myotonia congenita) the myotonia may be evoked in any skeletal muscle group and may be quite prominent in the orbicularis oculi.² Repetition of movement usually results in a disappearance of myotonia, while cold and fatigue commonly are aggravating factors. The electromyogram (EMG) in Thomsen's disease shows increased electrical activity with muscular movement and, most characteristically, a prolonged train of regular and synchronous potentials after muscular contraction or stimulation.

Hoffmann³ in 1896 described a young man with myotonia occurring simultaneously with hypothyroidism. Associated were prominent strongly developed muscles and percussion myotonia. The electrical stimulation of the affected muscles differed from that seen in Thomsen's disease. The patient was improved with thyroid hormone therapy, and the myotonia apparently disappeared. . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
ANN ARBOR, MICH.

Instructor in Internal Medicine (Dr. Sisson); Professor of Internal Medicine (Dr. Beierwaltes); Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Dr. Koepke); Associate Professor of Neurology (Dr. Magee).; From the Departments of Internal Medicine (Clinical Radioisotope Unit), Physical Medicine, and Neurology, University of Michigan.

Footnotes
Submitted for publication March 30, 1962, accepted for publication May 10, 1962.

This work was supported in part by the U.S. Public Health Service M-2399 (C2).

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