The inaugural Betty Heath Baldwin Endowed Distinguished Lecture in Myasthenia Gravis will be presented by Daniel B. Drachman, MD, a renowned expert in neuromuscular diseases. Drachman will present “Myasthenia Gravis: How to Treat (and Cure?) the Best Understood Autoimmune Disease” at 5 pm on May 23 in UAB Hospital West Pavilion Conference Center Room E, 615 18th St. South.

Drachman is a professor of neurology and neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, in Baltimore, where he also is the W.W. Smith Charitable Foundation Professor of Neuroimmunology.

The Baldwin Lectureship was established by Robert L. Baldwin, MD, a local physician, in memory of his mother, Mrs. Betty Heath Baldwin, and in honor of UAB neurologist Shin J. Oh, MD, a specialist in myasthenia gravis.

Myasthenia gravis is an acquired disorder that results in muscle weakness, made worse by activity and improved with rest. It results from an autoimmune attack against the nerve-muscle junction. Other forms of the illness are caused by architectural changes of the nerve-muscle junction.

Drachman was one of the founding members of the Department of Neurology at Johns Hopkins University in 1969. He founded the neuromuscular unit, which has become the largest division of the department and is now named in his honor. He is an accomplished teacher, mentor and lecturer and many of his trainees are now among the leaders in the field throughout the United States and the world.

The conference is free and open to the public. For more information, call 205-934-2120.

Media Contact:
Bob Shepard
(205) 934-8934
E-mail: bshep@uab.edu