Clinic for neuromuscular disorders

The Clinic for Neuromuscular Disorders deals with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the peripheral nervous system, the muscles and their interconnections:

• Neuropathy - peripheral nerve diseases.
• Myasthenia gravis (MG) - nerve-muscle connection disease.
• Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) - nerve-muscle connection disease.
• Myopathy - muscle disease.
• Myositis - muscle inflammation.
• Myalgia - muscle pain syndromes.
• Muscular Dystrophy - degenerative muscle disease.
• Myotonia - muscle contraction disease.
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) - muscle atrophy.
• Multi-professional treatment of adult patients with Duchenne-Becker disease, in cooperation with a team of experts from the heart, lung, gastroenterology and endocrinology clinics.

Our clinic also carries out clinical studies in the areas of neuropathy and muscle diseases. Additionally, we conduct laboratory research to develop treatments for neuropathy and Duchenne disease.  

What is the process for testing and diagnosing?

1. Electrodiagnostic Tests. Using various techniques, we test electrical activity in the nerves and muscles to diagnose different health conditions.

• Nerve conduction test (NCT) for diagnosing neuropathy.
• Electromyography (EMG) is used to test the electrical function of muscles; it helps diagnose nerve root damage, muscle atrophy or disease, and assess the severity of neuropathy.
• Repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) - to diagnose neuromuscular junction diseases, such as myasthenia gravis, botulism or LEMS.
• Single fiber electromyography  (SFEMG) - to diagnose neuromuscular junction diseases, such as myasthenia gravis.
• Autonomic conduction test - to diagnose autonomic neuropathy.

2. Pathological diagnosis:

• Skin biopsy - to diagnose neuropathy of thin fibers. The procedure is performed in a clinic under local anesthesia.
• Peripheral nerve biopsy - to diagnose inflammation or amyloid deposit and to characterize neuropathy when a clear diagnosis cannot be made through other methods. The procedure is performed in the clinic as a day surgery under local anesthesia.
• Muscle biopsy - to diagnose inflammatory, degenerative, developmental muscle diseases or those resulting from neurological diseases. The procedure is performed in the clinic as a day surgery under local anesthesia.

3. Ultrasound diagnosis:

• Identification of nerve entrapments.
• Identification of neuroinflammation.
• Identification of muscle diseases.

4. Diagnosis through physiological/special tests. The tests below are done in a neurological day hospitalization at the Center for Autoimmune Diseases:

• Tensilon test - to diagnose myasthenia gravis.
• Lumbar puncture (LP) - to diagnose inflammation around the nervous system.
• Muscle stress test - to diagnose metabolic diseases of the muscle.

How do you receive treatment?

In most cases, treatment is administered through oral medication. However, intravenous treatment may be necessary and is administered at specific sites.

• Neurological day hospitalization at the Center for Autoimmune Diseases - steroids, immunoglobulins and biological drugs.
• The Blood Bank - treatment with plasmapheresis (blood filtration).
• Hospitalization in the Department of Neurology