Myasthenia gravis and myasthenic disorders

The current edition begins with an overview of the anatomy and molecular architecture of the neuromuscular junction and the electrophysiologic diagnosis of its disorders. The introductory chapters are followed by a detailed exposition of the pathogenesis, natural history, diagnosis and therapy of the autoimmune myasthenias, the Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, and the increasingly complex and fascinating diseases collectively referred to as congenital myasthenic syndromes. The acetylcholine receptor is a major target of both autoimmune and inherited myasthenias and a separate chapter reviews its structural and functional properties. The book also describes disorders that often target terminal nerve segment near the neuromuscular junction-the syndrome of peripheral nerve hyperexcitability and the Guillain-Barré syndrome.