Data Collection of Standard Care of Patients in the EMG Section

Overview

Background: Most people who are referred to the EMG (Electromyography) Section of the NIH are enrolled into specific active studies. This allows researchers to learn about a range of rare neuromuscular disorders. But study criteria may not give researchers the chance to evaluate a single person or study a common symptom. Therefore, researchers want to assess people with neuromuscular disorders who are not currently enrolled in any NIH studies. They will perform tests on these individuals in the EMG Lab. Then they will create a repository of data that may be used for future research. This will help them learn more about these disorders. Objective: To retain data that is collected as part of participant visits to the NIH. Eligibility: People aged 18 and older who will be visiting the NIH for evaluation of their neuromuscular disorder. Design: Participants will be screened with a medical record review. Participants will have a physical exam. They will be evaluated for their neuromuscular disorder. They may have tests to learn more about how their nerves and muscles work that are called nerve conduction and EMG studies. Their muscles and nerves may be assessed with an ultrasound. Their ability to sweat may be measured. Their heart rate and blood pressure may be taken. Changes to their breathing or changes in their body position may be measured. Participant data will be given a unique numerical identifier that can be used if the data is shared. Data will be stored on a server and in a database. Participants will have 1-2 visits. Each visit will last less than 4 hours. They may be contacted for a follow-up visit.

Study Description: This protocol is designed to create a repository of information for future hypothesis generation. We will be evaluating patients with neuromuscular disorders that are not currently enrolled in any NIH protocols with procedures performed in the EMG Lab. The procedures include standard neurophysiological studies of EMG, autonomic nervous system (ANS) testing, and neuromuscular ultrasound (NMUS) as deemed necessary for appropriate diagnostic and clinical status testing. This will allow us to investigate into the problems of these patients with the purpose of furthering general knowledge of neuromuscular disorders and enhancing our EMG capabilities. Our ability to evaluate patients with a wide variety of neuromuscular diseases is also critical to maintaining our accreditation with the clinical neurophysiology fellowship programs and training our fellows to be competent physicians, as well as for keeping all staff, including senior staff, up-to-date and familiar with the evaluation of patients with a wide spectrum of diseases. We may also be able to later refer these patients into treatment protocols or re-evaluate patients that are no longer in an active NINDS protocol. This protocol will be valuable resource to the community by engendering greater interaction with the local neurologists and clinics as well as providing certain types of neurophysiological testing that are not readily available in the community. Objectives: To create a repository of information on enrolled participants to allow for hypothesis generation in future research To add value to the Clinical Neurophysiology training programs by providing consult, diagnostic tests, and medical follow-up of participants Endpoints: To create a repository of information on enrolled participants to allow for hypothesis generation in future research.