Unlike the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, you come fully equipped with a brain and nervous system--your body’s control center.

Your brain serves as communication central for your body. It hears a joke and sends the order to laugh. It sees a beautiful sunset and holds the memory for you. It recognizes your friend’s telephone number and sends the impulses to make the call. It collects and holds myriad memories so you can be who you are.

Your brain weighs about three pounds and that three pounds of neuro energy holds billions of pieces of individual information and makes trillions of connections.

Neuromuscular diseases

Neuromuscular disorder is an umbrella term that includes neuropathies, both acquired and inherited, muscle dystrophies, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gerhrig’s disease.These disorders represent between 15 and 20 percent of all adult neurology cases. disorders represent between 15 and 20 percent of all adult neurology cases.

Muscular dystrophy is an inherited disease that causes muscles to weaken and degenerate. Lacking a key protein needed for muscle function, the muscle tissue decreases and becomes progressively weaker. There is no cure. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common form of progressively weaker. There is no cure. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common form of the disease and the most severe childhood form of the disease. Early signs of the disease include tendency to fall, difficulty getting up, unusual or waddling gait, enlarged calf muscles, or high level of creatine kinase in the blood.

ALS is a rare and invariably fatal disease that attacks the nerve cells responsible for voluntary movement. The disease is characterized by gradual degeneration and death of motor neurons. The cause is not known, and there is no cure. Eventually, all muscles under voluntary control are affected. When muscles in the chest wall fail, patients lose the ability to breathe without a respirator. Early symptoms are subtle and are often overlooked. Twitching, cramping, stiffness of muscles, muscle weakness, slurred speech, or difficulty chewing or swallowing can be the first signs of ALS.

Personal Computer

In many ways, your nervous system is like having a built-in, personal computer. The nervous system is made up of three parts and they cooperate to make your body run like a fine-tuned machine.

• Your central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord. It sends out impulses and analyzes the returning information and tells your brain what you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel.
• Your peripheral nervous system includes the crainospinal nerves that branch off the brain and spinal cord. It carries messages to the muscles and glands.
• Your autonomic nervous system regulates involuntary actions, such as your heart beat and digestion.

UI Hospitals and Clinics Neuromuscular Clinic is part of the UI Department of Neurology. Using an integrated approach, including clinical expertise and therapeutics such as medications, physical therapy, and rehabilitation, the clinic provides comprehensive care for patients.

For more information about neuromuscular disorders and the treatment available at UI Hospitals and Clinics, call UI Health Access, 319-384-8842, ext. 105, or 800-777-8442, ext. 105.

Listed above are several Web sites that offer additional information on this topic. University of Iowa Health Care does not sponsor or endorse these sites, or guarantee the accuracy of the information contained on these sites. These links are here for general information only, and should not be used for personal diagnosis or treatment. If you have any questions, please contact UI Health Access.

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