Can absolute freedom of will be defended by arguing that apparent cases of diminished freedom when we act out of passion are cases of weakness of will? Rogers Albritton thought so. What is intriguing about Albritton’s view is that he thought when we act from desire we are making choices, yet our desires are not functioning as reasons for those choices. So our desires must be influencing our cho...

INTRODUCTION The association of myasthenia gravis (MG) with thymoma is about 15%, which increases to about 35% in older patients (1,19). Thymomas represent nearly 50% of tumors in the anterior mediastinum and if large enough may cause mediastinal widening (12). The connection between the thymus gland and MG has led to the medical recommendation of a thymectomy, however, a thymectomy does not cu...

In the diagnosis of functional weakness and sensory disturbance, positive physical signs are as important as absence of signs of disease. Motor signs, particularly Hoover's sign, are more reliable than sensory signs, but none should be used in isolation and must be interpreted in the overall context of the presentation. It should be borne in mind that a patient may have both a functional and an...

Richard Holton has developed a view of the nature of weak-willed actions, and I have done the same for akratic actions. How well does this view of mine fare in the sphere of weakness of will? Considerably better than Holton’s view. That is a thesis of this article. The article’s aim is to clarify the nature of weak-willed actions.

A failure in membrane excitability, defined as an inability of the sarcolemma and T-tubule to translate the neural discharge command into repetitive action potentials, represents an inviting cause of mechanical disfunction in both health and disease. A failure at this level would precipitate a disturbance in signal transmission between the T-tubule and the calcium release channels of the sarcop...

A 54-year-old man presented with progressive asymmetric leg pain and weakness. He had a history of invasive squamous cell carcinoma that was fully treated 2 years earlier. His leg symptoms progressed relentlessly during several months. Imaging studies demonstrated enhancement of the cauda equina and leptomeninges of the lower spinal cord. Initial cerebrospinal fluid examination showed an elevat...

A ubiquitous, vitamin-D deficiency is still unrecognized a n d u n d e r d i a g n o s e d . P r o x i m a l m u s c l e w e a k n e s s i s a c o m m o n symptom of vitamin-D deficiency and occurs before biochemical signs of its deficiency appears. Therefore, vitamin-D deficiency should be kept in the differential diagnosis for the muscle weakness, as it is reversible and easily treated with v...