Stiff Person Syndrome and Peripheral Nerve and Muscle Hyperexcitability Jonathan Perk Christina M. Ulane Lewis P. Rowland INTRODUCTION The terms muscle stiffness and cramps are used for commonly experienced symptoms…
Periodic Paralysis and Other Channelopathies Comana M. Cioroiu Lewis P. Rowland INTRODUCTION Muscle channelopathies comprise a heterogeneous group of diseases of skeletal muscle that include both syndromes of episodic weakness…
Endocrine and Toxic Myopathies Christina M. Ulane INTRODUCTION Muscle comprises a large proportion of all tissues in the body and the energy required for its function renders it susceptible to…
Critical Illness Myopathy and Neuropathy Michio Hirano Louis H. Weimer INTRODUCTION Although critically ill individuals in intensive care units are typically weak due to their severe medical illnesses, a subgroup…
Inflammatory Myopathies Rebecca Traub Christina M. Ulane Kurenai Tanji INTRODUCTION Myopathies, or disorders of skeletal muscle, are due to a variety of hereditary and acquired causes. Myopathies with genetic underpinnings…
Myasthenia Gravis and Disorders of the Neuromuscular Junction Christina M. Ulane Lewis P. Rowland INTRODUCTION Pathology at the neuromuscular junction can occur at the presynaptic or postsynaptic membrane. Autoimmune disorders,…
Acquired Peripheral Neuropathies Thomas H. Brannagan III Kurenai Tanji APPROACH TO PERIPHERAL NERVE DISORDERS The peripheral nervous system is composed of multiple cell types and elements that subserve diverse motor,…
Inherited Peripheral Neuropathies Chiara Pisciotta Michael E. Shy INTRODUCTION Inherited neuropathies, collectively known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, are a group of genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous peripheral neuropathies associated with mutations…
Bell Palsy and Cranial Neuropathies Comana M. Cioroiu Thomas H. Brannagan III Isolated cranial neuropathies are not uncommon, the most frequently encountered of which is Bell palsy. These syndromes can…
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Motor Neuron Diseases Rebecca Traub Hiroshi Mitsumoto INTRODUCTION Several different diseases are characterized by progressive degeneration and loss of motor neurons in the spinal cord with…
