Health Library
Neuromuscular Disease
Neuromuscular diseases affect the nerves and muscles, causing pain, weakness, numbness, and other symptoms. Neuromuscular diseases often result in neuropathy, a term which refers to nerves which are not functioning for no apparent reason. The Neuromuscular Service at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital provides care for people suffering from neuromuscular diseases, including:
- Neuropathy
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Myopathy
- ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease)
- Myasthenia gravis
- Guillain-Barre´ syndrome
The Neurological Institute of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center is home to one of the world's foremost neuromuscular program, with world-class experts in every specialty and subspecialty and active research in both the clinical and basic science aspects of these diseases. Areas of particular interest include diabetic and immune-related neuropathies, entrapment neuropathies (such as carpal tunnel syndrome), neuromuscular junction disease (myasthenia gravis), and primary muscle diseases, including mitochondrial disorders, as well as disorders of the autonomic nervous system. Full diagnostic treatment facilities include electrocardiomyography and autonomic laboratories that offer comprehensive cutting edge electrodiagnostic evaluations. Electrodiagnostic techniques measure the electrical activity of the heart or other muscles in the body while at rest and while contracting.
The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig MDA/ALS Research Center, part of the Neurological Institute, is dedicated to state-of-the-art neurological evaluation diagnostics and multidisciplinary care of Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis, called ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease. The Center's team of neurologists, nurse practitioners, physical and occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, nutritionists, pulmonologists and gastroenterologists work together to create a plan for comprehensive treatment in a compassionate setting that will address the patient's individual needs.
At NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, the Neuromuscular Center offers first-rate comprehensive services including consultation, diagnosis, second opinions, treatment and ongoing care for patients for the full range of nerve and muscle problems. Diagnosis begins with an extensive patient examination, followed by a series of specialized tests. Electrodiagnostic tests directly study nerve and muscle function, and usually include nerve conduction studies, in which a physician stimulates the nerve with a small electric impulse, and electromyography, in which a physician uses a needle probe to measures the electrical activity of muscles. A muscle biopsy, a minor outpatient neurosurgical procedure that involves removing a small piece of muscle with a specialized needle to look for anatomical abnormalities, may also be necessary to accurately evaluate the patient's condition. A highly individualized treatment program is then devised to best meet the needs of the patient. Treatment may include a variety of medications, physical or occupational therapy, splinting, or surgical intervention. The Neuromuscular Center's particular areas of specialty include diabetic neuropathy, HIV neuropathy, back injury, neck injury, weakness, facial pain, and numbness, pain or tingling of the feet.
The Neuromuscular Center is actively involved in clinical research trials of new therapeutic modalities for a host of neuromuscular disorders. The Center has recently completed a number of studies investigating treatments for Lou Gehrig's disease using nerve growth factors. Currently, much of our clinical research is focused on diabetic neuropathy and HIV neuropathy. Please contact us for more information on the opportunities available for patient participation in these clinical trials.
