Hypokalemic sensory overstimulation is a term coined by MM Segal and colleagues to describe a syndrome of sensory overstimulation, ineffectiveness of the local anesthetic lidocaine, and in females, premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
[1] This initial report was followed by discussion in a second article of tens of families with apparent autosomal dominant inheritance of this condition.
[2] A test for lidocaine ineffectiveness was briefly described in the 2014 paper,[2] but the controlled trial has not yet been completed.
[3] The use of oral potassium and avoiding high carbohydrate meals can help treat it according to recent tests, following the same approach that is standard for the muscle disease hypokalemic periodic paralysis.
[4][5] Since this condition includes ineffectiveness of the sodium-channel blocker lidocaine, the amide-type local anesthetic used in dental care, articaine, was tested and found to be effective in one member of the family.