Neuromuscular diseases
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Follow the links below to find trusted information about neuromuscular diseases.
Last reviewed: May 2018
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Muscular dystrophy treatment information video | myVMC
Muscular dystrophy is a neuromuscular disease. Stem cell therapies are being developed to treat muscular dystrophy and other muscle diseases.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
What is myasthenia gravis?
Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease characterized by varying degrees of weakness of the skeletal (voluntary) muscles of the body.
Read more on Autoimmune Resource and Research Centre website
Neuromuscular disorders - Better Health Channel
The combination of the nervous system and muscles is known as the neuromuscular system.
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Neuromuscular conditions | Novita
While most forms of neuromuscular conditions become evident in early childhood, some others appear in late adolescence or adulthood
Read more on Novita Children's Services website
Brain Foundation | Motor Neurone Disease
Motor Neurone Disease Motor Neurone Disease (also Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Read more at Virtual Medical Centre Description Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is the name given to a group of diseases in which the nerve cells (neurons) that control the muscles degenerate and die
Read more on Brain Foundation website
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) - Better Health Channel
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is the most common inherited disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system.
Read more on Better Health Channel website
Motor neuron disease (MND) information | myVMC
Motor neuron disease destroys the muscle and nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord and causes progressive muscle weakness.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Myaesthenia gravis information | myVMC
Myasthenia gravis is a rare autoimmune disease that causes muscle weakness. Symptoms include difficulty swallowing, drooping eyelids and double vision.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) - Better Health Channel
A child with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 rarely lives beyond three years of age.
Read more on Better Health Channel website
Glaucoma (eye disease) information | myVMC
Glaucoma, a group of disorders affecting the eyes, is a leading cause of blindness. Increased intraocular pressure damages eye tissues and the optic nerve.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Top results
Interventions for increasing ankle flexibility in people with neuromuscular disease | Cochrane
Loss of ankle flexibility is a common problem for people with neuromuscular disease. It can cause foot deformity, pain and problems walking. The purpose of this review was to assess the evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions for improving ankle flexibility in people with neuromuscular disease. Four studies were included in the review involving a total of 149 participants. Two studies showed that wearing a night splint was no more effective than not wearing a night splint for increasing ankle flexibility in 26 people who had Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A. One study showed corticosteroids (prednisone) did not significantly improve ankle flexibility in 103 boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and the other study showed that while orthopaedic surgery initially increased ankle flexibility in 20 young boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy this was not sustained in the long term. This review shows that, currently, there is limited evidence supporting any intervention for improving ankle flexibility in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. More research is needed.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Mechanical insufflation-exsufflation to improve mucus clearance in people with neuromuscular disorders | Cochrane
Mechanical insufflation-exsufflation to improve mucus clearance in people with neuromuscular disorders
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Therapeutic exercise for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or motor neuron disease | Cochrane
Muscle weakness is very common in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is also known as motor neuron disease (MND). A weak muscle can be damaged if overworked because it is already functioning close to its maximal limits. Because of this, some experts have discouraged exercise programs for people with ALS. However, if a person with ALS is not active, deconditioning (loss of muscle performance) and weakness from lack of use occurs, on top of the deconditioning and weakness caused by the disease itself. If the reduced level of activity persists, many organ systems can be affected and a person with ALS can develop further deconditioning and muscle weakness, and muscle and joint tightness may occur leading to contractures (abnormal distortion and shortening of muscles) and pain. These all make daily activities harder to do. This review found only two randomised studies of exercise in people with ALS. The trials compared an exercise program with usual care (stretching exercises). Combining the results from the two trials (43 participants), exercise produced a greater average improvement in function (measured using an ALS-specific measurement scale) than usual care. There were no other differences between the two groups. There were no reported adverse events due to exercise. The studies were too small to determine to what extent exercise for people with ALS is beneficial or whether exercise is harmful. We found no new trials when we updated the searches in 2012. More research is needed.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Treatment for cramps in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease | Cochrane
A cramp is a sudden, involuntary painful contraction of a muscle. Many people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND), experience cramps during the course of the disease. These range from mild cramps that do not affect daily activities and sleep, through to very severe, painful cramps. Some medications that are used to treat cramps in people with no medical condition or with conditions other than ALS have been tested in ALS clinical trials. These medicines include vitamin E, creatine, quinidine, and gabapentin. Other medications such as quinine sulfate, magnesium, lioresal, dantrolene, clonazepam, diphenylhydantoin, and gabapentin have been used to treat cramps in people with ALS but their effectiveness is unknown. In 2006 and 2010 the US Food and Drugs Administration issued warnings concerning the use of quinine sulfate, which was the previously most widely prescribed medication for cramps in the US. This review sought to find out how effective medications and physical treatments for cramps are for people with ALS. The reviewers identified 20 randomised controlled trials in people with ALS comprising a total of 4789 participants. Only one trial, of the drug tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), directly investigated the effectiveness of an intervention for cramps. Thirteen randomised controlled ALS trials investigated cramps secondarily among other variables. The medications comprised vitamin E, baclofen, riluzole, L-threonine, xaliproden, indinavir, and memantine. Six randomised controlled ALS trials investigated cramps as adverse events. The medications comprised creatine, gabapentin, dextromethorphan, quinidine and lithium. None of the 20 studies could demonstrate any benefit, but the studies were small. Current evidence on the treatment of cramps in ALS is lacking and more research is needed.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Interventions to reduce neuromuscular complications acquired during the acute phase of critical illness | Cochrane
Interventions to reduce neuromuscular complications acquired during the acute phase of critical illness
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Drug treatment for spinal muscular atrophy type I | Cochrane
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a severe neuromuscular disease with onset in childhood and adolescence that results in progressive muscle weakness. There are three main types of SMA. Drug treatment for SMA types II and III is discussed in a separate Cochrane review. The age of onset of SMA type I, also known as Werdnig-Hoffmann disease, is before six months. Children with SMA type I will never be able to sit without support and usually die by the age of two years. It is one of the most important causes of death due to a genetic disease in childhood. There was only one small randomised trial in the original review, which assessed the efficacy of riluzole for 10 children with SMA type I. In this trial all three children in the placebo group died, but three of the seven children treated with riluzole were still alive at the ages of 30, 48 and 64 months. However, none of the children in the riluzole or placebo group developed the ability to roll, sit or stand. For several reasons the overall quality of the study was low, mainly because the study was too small to detect an effect and there were baseline differences that resulted in risk of bias. Evidence is insufficient to recommend riluzole for SMA type I. No further trials were identified for this 2011 update. No drug treatment has been shown to have significant efficacy for SMA type I.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Enteral feeding (tube feeding) in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as motor neuron disease | Cochrane
Enteral feeding (tube feeding) in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as motor neuron disease
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as motor neuron disease | Cochrane
Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as motor neuron disease
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
In the later stages of Parkinson's disease, side effects occur because of the use of levodopa in its treatment. These consist of involuntary writhing movements (dyskinesia), painful cramps in the legs and a shortened response to each dose referred to as ' | Cochrane
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Metrifonate for Alzheimer's disease | Cochrane
Metrifonate is a long-acting irreversible cholinesterase inhibitor. We reviewed the evidence for its efficacy in Alzheimer's disease and assessed adverse events and tolerability. At various doses it was associated with significant cognitive improvement compared to placebo, improvement in clinical global impression, and activities of daily living.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
