No association between the neuroleptic malignant syndrome and mutations in the RYR1 gene associated malignant hyperthermia

Abstract The neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a drug-induced disease caused by neuroleptics, but the pathogenesis of NMS is unknown. Since NMS is similar to malignant hyperthermia (MH) in clinical features and treatment, 6 mutations in the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor (RYR1) gene, which were associated with MH, were investigated in unrelated NMS patients by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis (SSCP). As a result, MH-susceptible RYR1 mutations were not detected in our NMS patients. A single base substitution, C7278T, was detected in one patient whose serum CPK level was repetitively elevated, but his other major symptoms did not fulfil the clinical criteria for NMS. Our results do not support the association between the neuroleptic malignant syndrome and mutations in the RYR1 gene associated with malignant hyperthermia.