title: New techniques in the tissue diagnosis of gastrointestinal neuromuscular diseases.
abstract: Gastrointestinal neuromuscular diseases are a clinically heterogeneous group of disorders of children and adults in which symptoms are presumed or proven to arise as a result of neuromuscular (including interstitial cell of Cajal) dysfunction. Common to most of these diseases are symptoms of impaired motor activity which manifest as slowed or obstructed transit with or without evidence of transient or persistent radiological visceral dilatation. A variety of histopathological techniques and allied investigations are being increasingly applied to tissue biopsies from such patients. This review outlines some of the more recent advances in this field, particularly in the most contentious area of small bowel disease manifesting as intestinal pseudo-obstruction.
authors.affiliation: Neurogastroenterology Group, Centres for Academic Surgery and Pathology, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Science, Barts and the London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, Whitechapel, London, United Kingdom. c.h.knowles@qmul.ac.uk
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Knowles
authors.forename: Joanne E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D003938:Diagnostic Techniques, Digestive System; D003943:Diagnostic Techniques, Neurological; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D023281:Genomics; D006652:Histological Techniques; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009468:Neuromuscular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D040901:Proteomics