Neuromuscular Function and Disorders

Neuromuscular Function and Disorders focuses on the various processes underlying disordered neuromuscular function. Topics covered include the nature of membrane defects in myotonia and familial periodic paralysis; the disorder of neuromuscular transmission responsible for myasthenia gravis and the various pseudo-myasthenic syndromes; and the disorders of Schwann cell function which cause demyelination. This book is comprised of 28 chapters divided into two sections and begins with a discussion on the normal anatomy and physiology of peripheral nerve and muscle. Included in the first section are descriptions of the ionic mechanisms responsible for the resting and action potentials of nerve and muscle; the sequential stages in neuromuscular transmission; excitation-contraction coupling; the sliding filament mechanism of myofibrillar shortening; and the morphological and functional properties of motor units. The neurophysiology of exercise and muscle fatigue is also considered, along with the nature of the trophic influences exerted by the motoneuron and muscle fiber upon each other. The second half of the book deals entirely with various diseases of peripheral nerve and muscle, together with diagnostic procedures and therapeutic management. A consistent theme in this section is the recognition of neural abnormalities in diseases hitherto considered as primary disorders of the muscle fiber. This monograph should be of value to neurologists, medical students, research workers, and students and research scientists in physiology, zoology, pharmacology, kinesiology, and physical education.

Part 1: Muscle Fibers and Motoneurones 1 The Muscle Fiber 2 The Motoneurone and its Axon 3 Resting and Action Potentials 4 The Neuromuscular Junction 5 Muscle Contraction 6 Motor Units 7 Exercise and Fatigue 8 Trophic Interactions of Nerve and Muscle: Denervation and Reinnervation 9 Use and Disuse 10 Trophic Influence of Muscle on Nerve 11 Muscle Growth 12 AgingPart 2: Disorders of Muscle and Nerve 13 Neuropathic and Myopathic Disorders: Sick Motoneurone Hypothesis Disorders of Muscle Fiber Membranes 14 Myotonia 15 Familial Periodic Paralysis Disorders of Muscle Fiber Contents 16 The Muscular Dystrophies 17 Polymyositis, Malignant Hyperthermia and Other Myopathies Disorders of Neuromuscular Junctions 18 Myasthenia Gravis 19 Pseudomyasthenic Syndromes and Other Synaptic Defects Disorders of Nerve Fibers 20 Wallerian Degeneration and Fiber Regeneration 21 Demyelination and Remyelination 22 Nerve Compression 23 The Double Crush Syndrome Disorders of Motoneurones 24 Motoneurone Degeneration 25 Toxic and Metabolic Neuropathies 26 Reversible Motoneurone Dysfunction in Thyrotoxicosis 27 Trans-synaptic Motoneurone Degeneration 28 ConclusionsAppendicesReferencesIndex