Hyperinsulinism and neuromuscular disorders; a consideration of the association of pancreatic adenoma with wasting states.

Five cases, one reported herein, have been described in which progressive generalized muscle wasting, muscle fasciculations, increased myotatic irritability, and progressive motor disability were in evidence. In all of these cases, a pancreatic islet cell adenoma was present. In four of them arrest of the symptoms of muscular disease followed upon surgical removal of the islet cell adenoma. In the other case the tumor was not observed until postmortem examination, and in that case there was also histologic evidence of widespread and severe degeneration in the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord. The observations give rise to conjecture upon the possibility that endocrine dysfunction plays a part in the genesis of progressive muscular atrophy.