Disorders of Motor Nerve Hyperactivity
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Complaints referable to muscle such as pain, spasm, stiffness, fatigue and/or abnormal movements within a muscle are commonplace in the practice of medicine. As the cause…
Spinal Muscular Atrophies
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen The spinal muscular atrophies (SMAs) have been historically conceptualized as hereditary disorders preferentially affecting anterior horn cells and selected motor cranial nerve nuclei.1 As in all…
Other Motor Neuron Disorders
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen The previous three chapters discussed motor neuron diseases (MNDs) that are inherited or degenerative in etiology. This chapter will focus on the less common (of this…
Hereditary Spastic Paraparesis
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen The diagnosis of hereditary spastic paraparesis (HSP) is based on the identification of a phenotype characterized as a slowly progressive, symmetric, spastic paraparesis in which the…
Principles of Immunomodulating Treatment
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen The ideal of every patient and physician is to identify a diagnosis whose natural history is self-limited, or if not, a diagnosis for which an effective…
Approach to Patients with Neuromuscular Disease
GENERAL PRINCIPLES Print Section Listen The evaluation of patients with suspected neurologic disease remains first and foremost a bedside exercise. Accurate diagnosis requires consideration of individual patient and disease differences….
Brain Death and Organ Donation
Case Print Section Listen A 55-year-old right-handed woman presents to the emergency department (ED) because of sudden loss of consciousness. The patient has a history of tobacco smoking as well…
Bleeding Disorders and Coagulopathy Reversal
Case Print Section Listen A 60-year-old woman with a history of Crohn’s disease, factor V Leiden thrombophilia, and significant vascular and thrombotic disease in her left leg presents with headache….
Disorders of Water Homeostasis: Hypo- and Hypernatremia
Introduction Print Section Listen Critically ill patients are prone to a wide variety of fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base disorders. Two of those disorders are of particular relevance to patients with…
Common Infections in the ICU
Case Print Section Listen A 66-year-old man with no known medical history was admitted after a fall while working at a silo on his farm. On physical examination, he had…
