Treatment and prognosis

Seek expert advice:

• patients should avoid strenuous exercise
  • undertaking regular moderate physical activity may be beneficial in the management of McArdle's disease (1)
    • via increasing effort tolerance and quality of life
• oral glucose and fructose may be useful in the first minutes of exercise but reduces the ability to achieve ‘second wind’

The prognosis is usually benign, although muscle wasting and weakness can occur late in life (2)

• however also about one third of patients develop fixed weakness affecting proximal more than distal muscles (3)

Life expectancy in relation to cardiocirculatory diseases is normal.

Reference:

1. Ollivier K et al.Exercise tolerance and daily life in McArdle's disease.Muscle Nerve 2005;31: 637–641.
2. Bollig G et al. McArdle's disease and anaesthesia: Case reports. Review of potential problems and association with malignant hyperthermia. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica 2005;49 (8): 1077-1083.
3. Hirano M and DiMauro S.Metabolic myopathies. In: D.S. Younger, Editor, Metabolic myopathies, Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia (1999): 123–137.