LABORATORY AND BRANCH RESEARCH REVIEWS 101Medical Neurology Branch, NINDB
The Medical Neurology Branch within the clinical research program was
headed by G. Milton Shy and focused on neuromuscular disorders such
as muscular dystrophy, dystrophia myotonica, myositis, myasthenia gravis,
demyelinating disorders, cerebellar ataxias, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,
and cerebral palsy.^1 The branch’s research attempted to: 1) identify the
basic mechanisms responsible for neuromuscular disorders; 2) detect
cerebral neoplasias; and 3) study the basic abnormalities in the cerebral
cortex, through neurophysiological, pharmacological, radiological,
histopathological, and immunochemical techniques.^2
G. Milton Shy, M.D.
Courtesy of the National Library
of Medicine
The branch was comprised of six sections. Shy’s Section of the Chief,
Neurological Disorders,^3 focused on electromyography and observation
of muscle biopsies, chemistry and morphology of muscle involved in
paramyotonia, and intracellular electrode recording of single muscle
fibers in patients with myasthenia gravis.^4 Three other sections were
established in the summer of 1953: Clinical Neurochemistry, Clinical
Applied Pharmacology,^5 and Clinical Neurophysiology.