William S. David, MD, PhD

Determining the cause of generalized weakness can be a daunting task, since the differential diagnosis is vast. An overall approach to the patient who complains of generalized weakness is presented in our article

The differential diagnosis of generalized weakness is enormous; it includes disorders at all levels of the neur-axis. A variety of electrophysiological, pathological, radiographic, and other laboratory studies may be indicated depending on the specific diagnostic possibilities; costs can be controlled if such investigations are selected judiciously.