Diagnosis of motor neuropathy

Motor neuropathy is a clinical entity which leads to consideration of a wid e spectrum of peripheral nerve disorders. Firstly, it may be distinguished from other causes of peripheral motor involvement such as muscle diseases a nd disorders of the neuromuscular junction. Secondly, it may be discussed i n two different forms: acute and chronic. Acute chronic neuropathies are ma inly observed in Guillain-Barre syndrome, in which electrophysiological stu dies allow us to recognize the classical demyelinating form and the axonal form. The other causes of acute motor neuropathy are mainly poliomyelitis a nd porphyrias. Chronic motor neuropathies are mainly observed in motor neur on diseases, mainly amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, but also Kennedy's disea se and other lower motor neuron diseases which may be inherited or acquired . The other causes are multifocal motor neuropathy and the predominantly mo tor forms of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. The charact erization of these different types of chronic neuropathy is of major import ance because of the therapeutic consequences which may lead to the proposal of specific treatments.