Science / Medicine : Finding on Pig Muscle Disease May Aid Humans

Canadian researchers have identified the gene that causes an inherited muscle disease in pigs called porcine stress syndrome. The disease, typically triggered by stress, such as that involved in shipping pigs to market confined in close quarters, results in elevated body temperatures, which render their meat pale, soft and poorly suited for eating.

Researchers from the University of Guelph in Ontario and the C.H. Best Institute in Toronto reported that they have developed a simple, noninvasive test for detecting the gene that should allow pork producers to eliminate the defect through breeding.

The researchers also believe that the same gene, or one very similar to it, causes a rare disorder in humans called malignant hyperthermia. About one out of every 15,000 anesthetized children and one of every 50,000 anesthetized adults suffer a sudden temperature rise that causes neurological, liver and kidney disease, and even death. Discovery of the gene responsible for malignant hyperthermia could lead to new ways to treat and prevent it.