INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Myotonic dystrophy is the most common myotonic disorder (Table 31-1). There are at least two genetically distinct forms of myotonic dystrophy: Dystrophica myotonia type 1 (DM1)…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Neuropathies can result directly from various bacterial and viral infections, as well as from an indirect or parainfectious autoimmune response to the infection (Table 17-1). Parainfectious…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Like Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS), chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is a syndrome with both classic and variant phenotypes. In the case of GBS, the classic phenotype…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen This chapter reviews neuropathies associated with various drugs and other environmental exposures (Table 20-1). Toxic neuropathies due to chemotherapeutic agents are discussed in Chapter 19. The…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Landry described a condition characterized by acute ascending paralysis in 1859. Later, Guillain, Barré, and Strohl noted the areflexia and the albuminocytologic dissociation in the cerebral…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen In our experience and others, a cause for neuropathy will not be found in as many as 50% of cases despite an extensive work-up.1–11 The chronic…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Various peripheral neuropathies are associated with the different endocrinopathies (Table 21-1). In particular, peripheral neuropathy associated with diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Vasculitis is an immune-mediated disorder directed against blood vessels, which results in ischemia to end organs supplied by the affected blood vessels.1–5 The vasculitides can be…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Patients can develop neuropathies due to inadequate nutrition and subsequent vitamin deficiency (Table 18-1). Nutritional deficiency-related polyneuropathies are currently uncommon, especially in developed countries. However, these…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Muscle and nerve biopsies can be extremely useful in the evaluation of patients with myopathies and neuropathies. That said, not everyone suspected of having a muscle…