Aminoff's Diagnosis of Neuromuscular Disorders

Dr. Michael J. Aminoff, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in neurology at the University of California San Francisco, is an internationally recognized neurologist, clinical investigator, and author. His published contributions led to the award of a Doctor of Science degree by the University of London in 2000. He is one of the two editors-in-chief of the four-volume Encyclopedia of the Neurological Sciences (2003; 2014) as well as one of the series editors of the multivolume Handbook of Clinical Neurology. He was editor-in-chief of the journal Muscle & Nerve from 1998 to 2007 and has served on numerous other editorial boards. He was a director of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology for eight years and served as board chair in 2011. In 2006, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine and, in 2007, the A.B. Baker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Neurological Education from the American Academy of Neurology. In 2019 he received the Robert S. Schwab Award for outstanding contributions to research in peripheral clinical neurophysiology from the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society. Dr. Jeffrey W. Ralph directs the neuromuscular medicine fellowship program at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). He completed a neurology residency as well as fellowship training in neuromuscular medicine and clinical neurophysiology at UCSF. Dr. Ralph is an expert in the electrodiagnosis of neuromuscular diseases and in the clinical management of these diseases, especially peripheral neuropathies, and since 2004 has directed the Neuropathy Center at UCSF Medical Center. His research has addressed treatments for neuropathy caused by HIV/AIDS and muscle channelopathies.

Dr. Francis O. Walker joined the faculty of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in 1984 and is currently Emeritus Professor of Neurology. He has published widely on clinical neuropharmacology, neurophysiology, and neuromuscular imaging and has helped in the training of numerous fellows and residents. He has served on several editorial boards, helped create self-assessment and certifying examinations in clinical neurophysiology, and held leadership positions in medical societies including a term as president of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. Dr. Walker has been a pioneer in the development of ultrasound as a means of evaluating the neuromuscular system, and he is a co-editor of the book Neuromuscular Ultrasound.

New chapters are shown in bold type. The other chapters will be extensively revised and updated.

INTRODUCTION

1. Approach to Neuromuscular Diagnosis

(The aim of this new chapter is to share the thought process that experienced neuromuscular clinician use in making diagnoses.)

2. Electrodiagnostic Methods for the Study of Nerve and Muscle

BASIC ASPECTS

3. Nerve Physiology

4. Neuromuscular Junction Physiology

5. Muscle Physiology and the Motor Unit

6. Electrodiagnostic Apparatus

7. General Aspects of Needle Electromyography

8. Clinical Aspects of Needle Electromyography

9. Nerve Conduction Studies: Basic Principles and Pathologic Correlations

10. Quantitative and Related Techniques of Electromyography

11. Other Electrodiagnostic Techniques for the Evaluation of Neuromuscular Disorders

12. Electrophysiologic Evaluation of the Autonomic Nervous System

13. Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Nerve and Muscle in Health and Disease

(A brief review of MR technology will be presented. The MR characteristics of healthy muscle and nerve will then be shared. Then, the imaging correlates to various diseases of muscle and nerve will be discussed.)

14. Neuromuscular Ultrasound

(The technology and apparatus will first be introduced. The technique of conducting an evaluation will be presented. The imaging characteristics of normal muscle and nerve will be discussed before moving to a discussion of the correlates to common disease of muscle and nerve.)

CLINICAL ASPECTS

15. Myopathic Disorders and Myalgia

16. Motor Neuron Disorders

17. Muscle Fiber and Motor Unit Hyperactivity States

18. Polyneuropathy and Mononeuropathy Multiplex

19. Root and Plexus Lesions

20. Neuromuscular Junction Disorders

NERVES IN THE UPPER EXTREMITIES

21. Median Neuropathies

22. Ulnar Neuropathies

23. Radial Neuropathies

24. Disturbances of Other Nerves in the Upper Extremities

NERVES IN THE LOWER EXTREMITIES

25. Peroneal Neuropathies

26. Tibial and Sural Neuropathies

27. Sciatic Neuropathies

28. Disturbances of Other Nerves in the Lower Extremities

CRANIAL NERVES

29. Facial Neuropathies

30. Disturbances of Other Cranial Nerves and the Phrenic Nerve

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

31. Electrophysiologic Evaluation of Selected Aspects of the Central Nervous System

Appendix:

A Glossary of Terms Used in Clinical Electromyography

Video Clips