What are the causes of diaphragm paralysis?
Diaphragm Paralysis is the loss of control of one or both hemidiaphragms caused by a traumatic injury or disease process which decreases or terminates the impulse of respiratory stimuli originating in the brain. Causes of diaphragm paralysis include, but are not limited to: * Central neurological disorders such as a brain or brainstem stroke, * Spinal cord disorders such as syringomyelia or poliomyelitis, * Direct trauma to the phrenic nerve from surgery, radiation, or tumor, * Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, * Demyelinating disease processes such as Guillan-Barré syndrome and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), * Phrenic nerve neuropathy, viral or bacterial infections, and unknown (ie, idiopathic) etiologies.
