Summary
Metabolic and functional impairments in skeletal muscle frequently occur. These range from the symptoms of pain and fatigue to pathological disorders that may result in muscle wasting. However, many of these symptoms and features of skeletal muscle disease occur in diverse conditions, each with different aetiologies, methods of diagnosis and treatment. The purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive text that brings the complex facets of skeletal muscle pathology, diagnosis and management together in a single coherent volume.

All the contributing authors are of national or international standing and leading experts in their field with each chapter being a concise and detailed account of the current 'state-of-the-art'. Where relevant, the text is accompanied by diagrams, photomicrographs and tables with appropriate citations. The aim of the book is to enhance our understanding and treatment of skeletal muscle disorders.

Key features
* Chapters contributed by expert contributors from around the world
* Each contribution represents the state-of-the-art in the topic discussed

Readership
This book will provide informative reading for the clinician, physiologist, biochemist and experimental scientist alike, and anyone else with an interest in skeletal muscle pathology.

CONTENTS:
Section 1: Pathology / 1 Skeletal muscle fatigue / 2 Review of skeletal muscle injuries / 3 Inflammatory myopathies / 4 Crush injury / 5 Muscle injury in athletics / 6 Cancer cachexia / 7 Effect of hypoxia on skeletal muscle / 8 Biochemical aspects of ageing of skeletal muscle / 9 Steroid misuse in athletes: effects on skeletal muscle / 10 Skeletal muscle changes in heart disease / 11 Skeletal muscle in kidney disease / 12 The effect of non-insulin dependent diabetes on skeletal muscle / 13 The effect of magnesium and potassium deficiencies on skeletal muscle / 14 Mitochondrial myopathies / 15 Myopathies involving glycogen and carbohydrate metabolism / 16 Metabolic myopathies: an overview / 17 Alcoholic myopathy / 18 Skeletal muscle in HIV/AIDS: effects of disease process and therapy-induced changes / 19 Myasthenia gravis / 20 Effects of scleroderma on skeletal muscle / 21 Ion channel disorders / 22 Inclusion body myositis / 23 Desmin-related disorders / 24 AMP deaminase deficiency / 25 Capillary no flow / 26 Mechanism of skeletal muscle pain / 27 Cytokines and skeletal muscle / 28 Skeletal muscle infections / 29 Skeletal Muscle in Liver Disease / 30 Free radical mediated injury / Section 2: Diagnostic techniques / 31 Histochemical staining techniques for examination of skeletal muscle / 32 Immunohistochemical methods for examining skeletal muscle / 33 Methods for examination of antibodies in skeletal muscle disease / 34 Electromicroscopic methods for examination of skeletal muscle / 35 Intraneural nerve recordings / 36 Skeletal muscle biopsy techniques: practice and procedures / 37 Electromyography / 38 Magnetic resonance imaging / 39 Measuring skeletal muscle mass / 40 Assessment of muscle function by isometric test / 41 Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry / 42 Diagnostic electron microscopy / 43 Tomography as a diagnostic tool for skeletal muscle injury and pathology / 44 Biochemical markers of skeletal muscle disease / 45 Impedance measurements / 46 Assessing muscle pain / Section 3: Management of muscle disorders / 47 Strategies for increasing optimal function of skeletal muscle in the aged / 48 Nutritional therapies for improving muscle function and recovery in pathologies: an overview / 49 Endocrine therapies for reducing skeletal muscle wasting: theory and practice / 50 Dynamic myoplasty / 51 Therapeutic effects of exercise in heart disorders / 52 Management of muscle pathology in the critically ill / 53 Immunomodulation in muscle disease / 54 Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis / 55 Pharmacological preconditioning / 56 Management of skeletal muscle after stroke / 57 Skeletal muscle relaxants / 58 Gene transfer in skeletal muscle