Neurologists and non-neurologists alike can no longer ignore diseases of the neuromuscular system. The old dogma that these disorders are both uncommon and untreatable has lost its validity. Recent technological advances have enabled us to study more precisely muscle and nerve anatomy, physiology and biochem- istry. Because of this progress, we are now recognizing new neuromuscular di- seases as well as diagnosing more subtle cases of myasthenia gravis, myotonia, and metabolic myopathies. Treatment of the neuromuscular diseases has also un- dergone dramatic change based on new discoveries in...

Neurologic illness represents a major portion of clinical medicine and challenges the diagnostic and therapeutic acumen of all physicians. It is the purpose of this series to familiarize our colleagues with common clinical disorders and to emphasize not only examination techniques but also to discuss therapeutic and investigative implications. Pitfalls will also be emphasized. In this way, we hope to create a practical set of volumes that will stimulate the reader to "use" these books routinely rather than to set them on the shelf as a reference text. In the past few years, there has been a...

The contents of this volume are based upon the proceedings of a Sympo- sium entitled "Infectious Diseases of the Central Nervous System" held in Phoenix, Arizona, and sponsored by the Barrow Neurological Institute and Foundation during its Ninth Annual Symposium. The purpose of the Symposium was to bring together knowledgeable experts in this field to review information that is available and to enhance our knowledge of new developments in the field of infectious diseases in the central nervous system. Because the subject could not be covered in its entirety by this volume, we have placed...