Neuromuscular Programs

Clinics

The Neuromuscular Center includes the Motor Neuron Disease (MND) Clinic and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Clinic, both held weekly at HSC. A team approach to care is provided for patients in both the MND Clinic and MDA Clinic. In addition, Drs. Felice and Whitaker evaluate general neuromuscular disorders such as myasthenia gravis, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, and multifocal motor neuropathy.

For more information about the MDA, contact Casey Bilodeau at 860.633.4466 or cbilodeau@mdausa.org .

For more information about the ALSA, contact Joan Argento at 877.257.2281 or jargento@alsact.org.

NeuromuscularCenter Programs & Services:

  • Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic (MDA)
  • Motor Neuron Disease Clinic (MND)
  • General Neuromuscular Clinic
  • Electroneuromyography (EMG) Laboratory
  • Rehabilitation Services
  • Medical/Nutritional Therapy
  • Social Work Services
  • Clinical Research
  • Support Groups
  • Research and Clinical Trials Unit

Rehabilitation Services

At Hospital for Special Care, an extensive array of rehabilitation services are available to persons with neuromuscular diseases including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and swallow therapy, and aquatic therapy. Patients can be referred directly for rehabilitation services by calling 860.832.6258 or by faxing the necessary information and reason for referral to 860.832.6277.

Research and Clinical Trials Unit

Hospital for Special Care has recently opened the region's first Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Clinical Trials Unit at its Neuromuscular Center. The new unit is headed by Jinsy A. Andrews, M.D., a physician researcher recruited from Columbia University. Dr. Andrews, Director of Research & Clinical Trials Unit, Hospital for Special Care, specializes in neuromuscular research and will facilitate the hospital's clinical trials for ALS.

The Clinical Trials Unit will focus on three major areas of research:

  • Experimental drug trials for ALS and other neuromuscular disorders
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored clinical research and epidemiology studies
  • "Medical Home" research (complete coordination of care in one clinical setting)

The Neuromuscular Research and Clinical Trials Unit at HSC is the only one of its kind in Connecticut, and one of three in the New England and New York City region.

Support Groups

Included in the Neuromuscular Program are support groups for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients and caregivers and inclusion body myositis (IBM) patients. For more information, contact Candace Kiely, RN at 860.612.6305 or Brigitte Scalabrini, MSW, at 860.612.6316, bscalabrini@hfsc.org.