Table 1 Example of a case used in all three experiments

A 32-year-old woman consulted the doctor with complaints of muscle weakness in arms and legs. The patient had two similar, though less severe, episodes over the last 6 months. During this period, she reports to have been anxious and oversensitive to heat. She lost 4 kg of her weight despite maintaining her appetite. She has been constantly feeling hot and sweating. Last night she began to notice a slight weakening of the muscles. On waking up, she could get up only with severe difficulty and was unable to walk. She had no vomiting or diarrhoea. The patient has used Pravastatin (40 mg) because of a family history of dyslipidaemia. She was treated for a toxoplasmosis-chorioretinitis 3 years ago. Family history: her brother had a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis. There are no diseases associated with muscle weakness in the family.

Physical examination:

BP: 140/70 mmHg; pulse: 100 / min; respiratory rate: 20/min; temperature: 36.6 °C. The skin is warm and moist. Slight hand trembling. Severe proximal muscle weakness; symmetric shortened tendon reflexes. The rest of the physical examination showed no abnormalities.

Lab tests:

Hb: 16.7; Ht: 49%; white cell count: 9000; ESR: 1; urea: 13; creatinine: 0.7; sodium: 143; potassium: 2.0; chloride: 108.