Department Introduction

The Neuromuscular Division of Lin-Kou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital was established on March 1, 2005. Our staff include experts of neurodegenerative diseases, dementia, myelopathy, neuromuscular diseases, multiple sclerosis and neuropathic pain. Currently, there are 10 attending physicians who are in charge of the laboratory tests including nerve conduction velocity, electromyography, autonomic function test, nerve & muscle biopsy and so on. The past department chief were Dr. Rong-Kuo Lyu (March 1, 2005 ~ June 30, 2008) and Dr. Long-Sun Ro (July 1, 2008 ~ August 31, 2014, and Dr. Hong-Shiu Chang is the present chief since September 1, 2014.

Neuromuscular diseases are important and common clinical neurological disorders. The clinical manifestations range from paralysis, weakness, pain, gait disturbance, abnormal coordination, muscle spasms, stiffness, to dizziness and syncope, etc. The etiology includes genetic derangement, abnormal immune inflammatory response, drug or toxin poisoning, metabolic disturbance, paraneoplastic syndrome, vasculitis, tumor, trauma and so on, In order to make an accurate diagnosis and give most effective treatment, it requires professional neurologists to do careful clinical evaluation, and arrange appropriate laboratory tests.
　
In the past decade, we have developed many tests to assess the neuromuscular physiology, morphology, immunology and molecular biology. We also introduce the latest concepts and methods of treatment to the patients. For example, we setup a special clinic of Botulinum Toxin Injection to provide an effective treatment for the patients of muscle spasm or twitching. Research for neuromuscular disorders has long been an important subspecialty in the department of neurology of eminent overseas medical centers. which have exclusive treatment teams for these diseases. By contrast, the subspecialty has not been firmly separated from the general neurology in the current major medical centers in Taiwan. This not only raises concerns about clinical competence but also impedes specialization in education and research progress. In addition, abnormal immunomodulation is one of the common etiologies causing neuromuscular diseases. It requires experts and specialized techniques to make accurate diagnosis and provide appropriate treatments for these diseases. Therefore, we will propose the setup of a Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Research Center to improve the quality in diagnosis, treatment, research and education for neuromuscular diseases in our hospital.