This book provides state of the art information on the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of a range of inflammatory, autoimmune, and idiopathic neuromuscular disorders. The opening section discusses the differential diagnosis of acquired myopathies based on clinical, electrophysiological, muscle biopsy, and serological criteria, with special focus on the role of electromyography and antibody testing. Each of the relevant clinical entities is then discussed in detail, the coverage including, for example, myasthenia gravis, polymyositis, immune-mediated neuropathies, multifocal motor neuropathies, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, paraneoplastic neuropathies, and diabetic polyneuropathy. Clear guidance is provided on currently available treatments, with descriptions of the latest advances in physiotherapy, drug therapy, and respiratory care. Other features of this clinically oriented book are the inclusion of many illustrative case presentations and contributions by international authors from leading centers.

Muscular Dystrophies include a heterogeneous series of diseases that range from childhood to adult onset cases, of difficult diagnosis and treatment. This book presents the state of the art in muscular dystrophies, after the molecular revolution. In the field of patients' diagnosis, several advances have been done by recognising new entities. New techniques such as biochemical, molecular advancements, and the use of muscle MRI are collected that allow rapid diagnosis. Also, advances in therapy and therapeutical trials are presented in Duchenne and other muscular dystrophies and some novel treatments in glycogen storage disease by enzyme replacement are proposed. Both rehabilitation techniques and other treatments deserve particular attention for the improvements observed.