Neuromuscular Diseases

Neuromuscular Program

The Neuromuscular Program provides primary and referral services for all disorders of the peripheral nerves and muscles. The service is dedicated to the delivery of expert clinical care, as well as to the education of both patients and colleagues at all levels of training. Faculty are all board certified neurologists with special training in neuromuscular disease and clinical neurophysiology.

The Department of Neurology consists of physicians, nurses, and technical staff that focus on the diagnosis and treatment of people with diseases of peripheral nerves, muscles and the neuromuscular junction. Neuromuscular diseases include peripheral neuropathies, with symptoms of tingling, numbness or pain in the limbs , neck or back pain, carpel tunnel (CTS) , Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, myopathy (polymyositis, dermatomyositis, inclusion body myositis), neuropathy (Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), diabetic neuropathy, undiagnosed), muscular dystrophy (FSH, Duchene, Becker, Limb-Girdle, myotonic, oculopharyngeal), Stiff-Person syndrome, and related disorders. muscular dystrophies, and ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), etc.

The Neuromuscular Division includes the electrodiagnostic laboratory (nerve conduction studies and electromyography or "EMG"), which performs > 1500 diagnostic studies per year. The Neuromuscular Pathology laboratory prepares and interprets nerve and muscle biopsy tissue from patients.

Electromyography Lab

The EMG Lab conducts electrical studies of the lower motor neurons, including anterior horn cell, nerve root, plexus, peripheral nerves, neuromuscular junction and muscles, to aid in understanding and evaluating neuromuscular disorders.

Procedures used to assist in diagnosis include:

• Nerve conduction studies
• Electromyography
• Advanced neurophysiologic studies to detect peripheral neuropathies and nerve entrapment
• Neuromuscular junction testing
• Facial nerve electrophysiology

Our philosophy of patient-centered care includes respect for each patient’s values and needs, integration of care, communication and education, physical comfort, emotional support and the involvement of family and friends. We work closely with the physical and occupational therapists at the Memorial Hermann SMART Clinic (Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Therapies), providing rehabilitation options to enhance treatment.

Fellowship Program

The goal of fellowship training in neuromuscular disorders is to facilitate the development of neurologists with subspecialty expertise in neuromuscular disorders. These subspecialists will serve to advance the science and understanding of nerve and muscle abnormalities. They will also provide diagnoses and care for patients with nerve and muscle disorders, and will educate other physicians (including internists, family practitioners, neurology residents,general neurologists, and other neuromuscular subspecialists), other healthcare personnel,and the public about these disorders.

All subspecialists in neuromuscular disorders must acquire expertise in the evaluation and management of patients with nerve and/or muscle pathology. This includes skill in the interview and examination of patients with neuromuscular complaints, knowledge of the appropriate laboratory investigations for diagnosis of neuromuscular disorders, knowledge of the differential diagnoses for the various clinical presentations of nerve and muscle problems, and expertise in the management of these conditions. Within the spectrum of neuromuscular disorders, individuals and programs may develop a variety of specialized skills with the above objectives.

These skills may include:
• performance and interpretation of electrodiagnostic studies (including electromyography, nerve conduction studies, autonomic studies, and evoked potentials)
• imaging (ultrasound, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance) of muscle or nerve
• methods for investigating the molecular biology, immunology, pharmacology, biochemistry, physiology, or other basic science of neuromuscular disorders

The neuromuscular disorders fellow must have completed an accredited residency program in either child neurology or adult neurology.

Neuromuscular Disorders Team

2007-2008 Fellows

(left to right)
Jonathan Garza, M.D., Fellow
Parveen Athar, M.D., Assistant Professor of Neurology
Dalila Natali, M.D., Fellow
Troy Beaucoudray, M.D., Fellow