NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASE CENTER
Overview & Personnel

NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASE CENTER: GENERAL DESCRIPTIONS

• General information
  • We treat over 2,000 outpatients each year in our Neuromuscular Clinic at Washington University in Saint Louis.
    
  • Specific disease syndromes treated include
    • Motor Neuron Disorders: ALS - Lou Gehrig's Disease; Spinal Muscular Atrophy & Others
    • Muscle Disorders: Including Muscular Dystrophy, Mitochondrial & Immune and Inflammatory Myopathies
    • Nerve Disorders: Peripheral neuropathies and Pain
    • Neuromuscular Junction: Myasthenia gravis & Myasthenic syndromes
  • Most other patients have disorders of muscle or peripheral nerve
  • We also see some patients with ataxia or spinal cord disorders
  • Our neuromuscular clinic is supported by the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
    
  • It is a designated ALS clinic.
  • A full range of available services includes:
    
  Medical Diagnostic & Treatment, Physical & Occupational therapy, Respiratory & Nutritional care,
  Orthotics, Social work, and Medical & Rehabilitation supplies, Wheelchair evaluation.
  • 12 Physicians, specialty trained in neuromuscular disorders of adults and children, see our patients.
  
  
• Clinic Appointments: New Patient
  • Please send or fax medical records to
    Neuromuscular Disease Center
    Box 8111-Neurology
    660 South Euclid Avenue
    Saint Louis, MO 63110
    Phone: 314-362-6981; Fax: 314-362-3752
    
  • It is very helpful if the records include
    • A diagnosis or reason for referral
    • A recent history and physical examination by a neurologist
    • Insurance information
    • The name and address of the referring physician(s) to whom we can send our reports
  • After two weeks call 314-362-6981 to discuss the status of your appointment
  • If there is a need for an urgent appointment
    • Please have your physician call us: 314-362-6981, option 5
  • Other information about new patient appointments
    • Call us at 314-362-6981 and choose option 1: Listen to directions
  
  
• Telephone Instructions
  
  
• Clinic visits: Patients should come to
  • The Center for Advanced Medicine (Forest Park & Euclid), 6th floor
  • Parking: North garage on Euclid Ave
  • Maps
    • Area
    • Clinic & Hospital
  
  
• Clinic appointments: Other
  • Returning patient
  • Electrodiagnostic (EMG & Nerve conduction testing): 314-362-3324
  • Inpatient consultations: Call 314-362-6981, option 5
  
  

• Our active electrodiagnostic service (314-362-3324) studies 2,500 patients per year.
• Available tests include
  • Electromyography
  • Nerve conduction studies
  • Repetitive nerve stimulation
  • Single fiber EMG
  • Quantitative sensory evaluation
  • Autonomic testing
  • Ultrasound: Nerve & Muscle
• More information: See WUP website

• The Neuromuscular Clinical Laboratory provides
  •   Antibody testing
    • Antibodies tested
    • Test request form
  •   Neuromuscular pathology (Muscle & Nerve biopsies).
    • We evaluate more than 500 muscle and 100 nerve biopsies each year.
      • Histology
      • Muscular dystrophy testing
      • Myositis testing
      • Mitochondrial testing
    • Test request form
• Help: Call 314-362-2406 for instructions on sending muscle or nerve biopsies.

NEUROMUSCULAR PERSONNEL

Active clinical studies & trials at the Neuromuscular Disease Center at Washington University include  

 INFORMATION: Call Ms. Charlie Wulf at 314-362-6981, Option 5

  * Open to new patients

    Neuromuscular Genetics Project: Hereditary Disorders

l Motor Neuron Disease (ALS)*

l Nerve Disease*

l Muscle Disease*

    Neuropathy

l Multifocal motor neuropathy: Rituximab treatment

l Anti-MAG neuropathy: Rituximab treatment

l Waldenström's macroglobulinemia

l Sjögren syndrome

    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

l Biogen-IDEC (Knopp): Dexpramipexole*

l Genetics & Genetic modifiers*

l Ceftriaxone*

l Creatine + Tamoxifen*

l SOD-ALS: Genetic therapy*

l GSK 1223249

    Spinal muscular atrophy

l Sodium phenylbutyrate treatment for children

l Valproate treatment for adults*

l Quality of life*

    Duchenne muscular dystrophy

l Quality of life*

l Genetic diagnosis*

l GSK DMD 114876 Oligonucleotide treatment*

l Cardiomyopathy: Losartan vs Lisinopril*

    Inherited myopathy: Other

l Acid maltase: Diagnostic and treatment study

l Limb-Girdle muscular dystrophy: Diagnostic and natural history study*

l Distal myopathy + Paget's disease: Clinical and Genetic study*

l Periodic paralysis: Dichlorphenamide*

l Ultrasound evaluation of muscle & nerve*

    Immune & inflammatory myopathies

l Myositis-specific antibodies: Clinical & pathological correlations*

l Dermatomyositis: Treatment trials

l Dermatomyositis & Polymyositis: Pathology and Natural history study*

l Inclusion body myositis: Etanercept (Enbrel) treatment*

l Myasthenia gravis: Genome-wide association study

l Myasthenia gravis: Cytokinetics

• Neuromuscular Grand rounds (monthly; 1st Wednesday of each month 8 am)
• Clinic patient review (weekly)
• Clinical rounds (4 times weekly);
• Electrodiagnostic
  • Clinical conference (Al-Lozi; weekly)
  • Basic EMG & Nerve conduction conference (Al-Lozi et al.; weekly)
  • Electrophysiology teaching conference (weekly)
• Muscle and Nerve biopsy
  • Reading (weekly; Saturday mornings)
  • Teaching & Unknowns (weekly; Wednesday 2:45 pm)
• Neuromuscular Journal Club (weekly; Friday 12:30 pm),
• Laboratory meetings (Pestronk; weekly); (Basic group; 2x/month)