Neuromuscular Disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. When the nerve cells die, the brain loses its ability to simulate and control muscle movement. Commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, ALS affects more than 5,000 new patients in the U.S. every year.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is an inherited nerve problem. It causes abnormalities in the nerves that supply your feet, legs, hands, and arms. It affects both your motor and sensory nerves. Motor nerves carry signals from your brain to your muscles, telling them to move. Sensory nerves carry sensations, such as heat, cold and pain back to your brain. CMT is considered a peripheral neuropathy because it affects nerves outside of your brain and spinal cord.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, unpredictable and wide-ranging disease that does more to raise questions than provide answers. MS affects the central nervous system, disrupting the flow of information from the brain to the spinal cord. More common in women than in men, the disease most often occurs in patients ages 20-40, though it can affect a patient of any age.

Muscular dystrophies are a group of inherited diseases that damage and weaken muscles over time. This damage and weakness is due to the lack of a protein called dystrophin, which is necessary for normal muscle function. The absence of this protein can cause problems with walking, swallowing, and muscle coordination. The prognosis for muscular dystrophy depends on the type and the severity of symptoms. However, most individuals with muscular dystrophy do lose the ability to walk and eventually require a wheelchair.

Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks its own neuromuscular connections. This causes problems with communication between nerves and muscle, resulting in weakness. Myasthenia gravis affects the voluntary muscles of the body, especially the eyes, mouth, throat, and limbs.

Myopathy is a general term referring to any disease that affects the muscles that control voluntary movement in the body. Patients experience muscle weakness due to a dysfunction of the muscle fibers. Some myopathies are genetic and can be passed from parent to child. Others are acquired later in life and can be due to autoimmune disease, known as myositis, metabolic disorders or other causes.

Myositis is a rare group of diseases characterized by inflamed muscles, which can cause prolonged muscle fatigue and weakness. The group includes the autoimmune disorders juvenile myositis, polymyositis and dermatomyositis, as well as inclusion body myositis (IBM). These diseases, sometimes referred to as inflammatory myopathies, can affect the internal organs, skin and multiple muscle groups of patients.

Peripheral neuropathy, a result of damage to the nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord (peripheral nerves), often causes weakness, numbness and pain, usually in your hands and feet. It can also affect other areas of your body. Peripheral neuropathy can result from traumatic injuries, infections, metabolic problems, inherited causes and exposure to toxins. One of the most common causes is diabetes.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic disorder that starts in the central nervous system and affects all the muscles in the body. Due to the degenerative nature of the disease, people with SMA will experience a decline in muscle strength over time, although the rate and severity can vary among individuals.