• Patients & Visitors
• Clinics & Services
• Focus of Care
• Krembil Neurosciences
• Medical & Community
       Care
• Musculoskeletal Health
       & Arthritis
• PMH Cancer Program
• Peter Munk
       Cardiac Centre
• Surgical &
       Critical Care
• Multi-Organ                               Transplant
• Find a Doctor
• Research
• Education
• Careers at UHN
• Health Professionals
• Media
• For Staff

Overview Clinics Research Staff Patient Information A - Z Glossary Map & Directions Health Professionals Media Room

The Krembil Neuroscience Centre’s neuromuscular program at UHN specializes in caring for patients with complex neuromuscular disorders.

Neuromuscular disorders affect the nerves that control your voluntary muscles. Examples of voluntary muscles are the ones in your arms and legs – those you can control through a conscious decision to move them. Movement is achieved through your nerve cells, which send the messages that control these muscles. If the nerve cells in your body are damaged, communication between your nervous system and muscles breaks down. As a result, your muscles weaken and waste away. The weakness can lead to twitching, cramps, aches and pains, and joint and movement problems.

In addition to a strong clinical setting to evaluate and treat patients, the program also has a very active research arm to better understand how neuromuscular disorders affect the brain and body.
Common neuromuscular disorders include:

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Also known as ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease – the disease attacks the nerve cells of your voluntary muscles. Over time, you lose your strength and eventually cannot control your muscles in your chest, which causes patients to rely on a ventilator.

• Multiple sclerosis: is a disease that attacks the nerves protective cover, known as myelin. Myelin provides the covering or insulation for nerves, which is necessary for normal conduction of electrical impulses and protects the nerve. Without myelin, impulses become slower and the nerves themselves are damaged. As more nerves are affected, a patient can experience progressive interference with functions that are controlled by the nervous system such as vision, speech, walking, and memory.

• Muscular dystrophy: can be caused by over 30 inherited diseases that cause muscles to weaken. Symptoms can vary in severity and can affect people at different stages in life.

• Myasthenia gravis: is a condition that interferes with messages your nerves send to your muscles and most often affects muscles in your head. Common symptoms are trouble with eye and eyelid movement, facial expression and swallowing. Normally, nerve endings release a substance that attaches to receptors on your muscles. That tells your muscles to contract. If you have myasthenia gravis, your body's own immune system makes antibodies to block that signal.

• Spinal muscular atrophy: is a genetic disease that attacks the nerves in your spinal cord. As you lose motor neurons your muscles weaken, which affects your ability to walk, breath and control head and neck function.

[back to top]
[back to Krembil Neuroscience Centre home]