Brachial Plexus Injury (BPI) is a type of hand or arm paralysis. Brachial Plexus is a very important nerve for the movement of our hands. This nerve provides somatic motor and sensory innervations to the upper extremity, including the scapular region.  These injuries are caused by excessive stretching, tearing, or other trauma to a network of nerves located between the spine and the shoulder, arm, and hand. Symptoms may include a limp or paralyzed arm and loss of muscle control or sensation in the arm, hand, or wrist. Chronic pain is often a concern. Injuries often occur due to vehicular accidents, sports mishaps, gunshot wounds, or surgeries; these injuries can also happen during the birth process if a baby’s shoulders become impacted, causing the brachial plexus nerves to stretch or tear.

The treatment for these injuries includes occupational or physical therapy and, in some cases, surgery. Some of these injuries may heal without treatment; many babies improve or recover by three to four months of age. For avulsion (tears) and rupture injuries, there is no potential for recovery unless surgical reconnection is made in a timely manner. 

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) belongs to a group of disorders known as motor neuron diseases. Motor neurons are nerve cells located in the brain, brainstem, and spinal cord that serve as control units and communication links between the nervous system and the voluntary muscles of the body. The loss of these cells causes the muscles under their control to weaken and waste away, leading to paralysis. ALS is often fatal within five years of diagnosis, mainly due to respiratory failure. People who opt for permanent use of a feeding tube and a ventilator after the failure of swallowing and respiratory muscles can generally be kept alive for many more years.

Acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN), also referred to as "Chinese paralytic syndrome," is a distinct disease entity that appears different from AIDP and poliomyelitis because of its primarily axonal involvement. Recent research documented excessive axonal degeneration without preceding demyelination and suggested that the target antigen may lie on the axon. AMAN has been described, particularly during the summer months, among children and young adults in northern China and has also been reported in Mexico, Spain, India (recently described as "Asian paralysis syndrome"), Pakistan, and South Korea. Characteristic features of AMAN include fulminant and widespread paralysis with slow and usually incomplete recovery, bilateral facial weakness, frequent involvement of the tongue, normal sensory perception, and normal cerebrospinal fluid cell count. 

Herpesviridae (cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, varicella-zoster virus) are a group of neurotropic DNA viruses that may cause AFP (Acute flaccid paralysis) associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome, opportunistic infections of the nervous system in individuals with AIDS, and acute transverse myelitis. Herpes simplex virus encephalitis is the most common form of nonepidemic viral encephalitis in the world, with an annual incidence of 1-3 cases per million population; all age groups may be affected, including newborns infected at birth. 

Landry-Guillain-Barre-Strohl syndrome, hereafter called Guillain-Barre syndrome, is a disorder of peripheral nerves, characterized by subacute (days to weeks) progression of motor-sensory dysfunction not associated with meningismus or fever. The syndrome was first described by Landry in 1859 and by Guillain, Barre, and Strohl in 1916. The diagnostic criteria developed by Asbury and Cornblath based on the pathophysiologic and morphologic understanding of Guillain-Barre syndrome, correspond to those of acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP). There is increasing evidence that what is diagnosed as Guiltem-Barre" syndrome may include conditions originating from a variety of underlying pathogenic mechanisms. In the absence of wild virus-induced poliomyelitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome is the most common cause of AFP in many parts of the world, and it accounts for over 50 percent of AFP cases in both industrialized and developing countries. The annual incidence globally is 1-2 per 100,000 population; however, there are differences by region and ethnicity.  

Nonpolio enteroviruses

Nonpolio enteroviruses have been associated with polio-like paralytic disease, frequently accompanied by other clinical syndromes, such as aseptic meningitis, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, and acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis.

Coxsackieviruses A and B, echovirus, enterovirus 70, and enterovirus 71 have been implicated in polio-like paralytic disease. Outbreaks of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis with radiculomyelitis and paralytic illness in India, Taiwan, Thailand, and Panama were etiologically linked to enterovirus 70. Muscle weakness and wasting associated with enterovirus 70 is usually severe and permanent.