Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy: Search for Underlying Causes Continues

by: Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc
October 06 2008, Article # 12851 Despite having recently identified a genetic defect that results in polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) in many horses (see articles 11654 and 12725), the underlying cause of PSSM remains to be determined in others. According to a multi-institutional study on PSSM in Belgian horses, the overproduction of glycogen (rather than a decrease in glycogen utilization or excessive glucose uptake by muscle cells) is thought to be the underlying cause of ...