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Anne M. Connolly, MD

Dr. Connolly's clinical activities involve inpatient and outpatient evaluation of children with neuromuscular disorders. These diseases include muscular dystrophies, neuropathies (inherited and acquired), and disorders of the motor neuron including spinal muscular atrophy. Her academic interests relate to better diagnosis and treatment of these children. Her research involves using mouse models to determine if pharmacologic therapies are likely to translate to children. She is also interested in the role of the immune system in acquired disorders of central nervous system. She does bedside teaching of medical students and pediatric, neurology and neuromuscular residents in training and teaches electrodiagnostic procedures including EMG and nerve conduction studies both in the clinic and as a contributor for the lecture series. She is also one of the Practice of Medicine teachers for the third year Medical students.

Dr. Connolly is a member of the Child Neurology Society and the American Academy of Neurology. Dr. Connolly is board certified in Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Neurology with special qualification in Child Neurology, and in Electrodiagnostic Medicine.

In my laboratory, we study mouse models of Duchenne and Congenital muscular dystrophy. I have also been interested in autoantibodies and have worked to characterize particular autoantigens in a variety acquired and inherited neurologic diseases affecting children.

Medical Training

Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, Dr. Connolly received in 1980 her B.S. from Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana, and in 1984 her M.D. from Indiana University in Indianapolis. Dr. Connolly then came to St. Louis, Missouri, where, between 1984 and 1988, she completed residency programs in Pediatrics at Saint Louis Children's Hospital, and Neurology at Barnes Hospital.

Dr. Connolly served as a Fellow in Child Neurology at Saint Louis Children's Hospital from 1988 to 1990. Continuing at Washington University School of Medicine, she undertook a Fellowship in Neuromuscular Disease with Dr. Alan Pestronk, and a Research Fellowship in Developmental Neurology in the laboratories of Drs. Alan Pearlman and Alan Pestronk. In 1993, Dr. Connolly was appointed Assistant Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics. She is now Washington University Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics.

Selected Publications

Keeling R., Golumbek, P. Streif, Connolly, AM, Effect of weekly prednisone on long term survival and strength in the mdx mouse. Muscle and Nerve.2007 35:43-48.

Hughes MS, Marsh KD, Wallace TA, Connolly AM, Lanza GM, Wickline SA, Sensitive Ultrasonic Detection of Dystrophic Skeletal Muscle in Patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy using an Entropy-Based Signal Reciever, 2007 Ultrasound Med Biol. 2007; 33:1236-43.

Golumbek, P, Keeling, RM, Connolly, AM. Strength and Corticosteroid Responsiveness of Mdx Mice is Unchanged by RAG2 Gene Knockout. Neuromucular Disorders 2007; 17: 276-84.

Wallace, K. Marsh, J, Baldwin, S, Connolly, AM, Keeling, R. Lanz, G. Wickline, S. Hughes, M. Sensitive Ultrasonic Delineation of Steroid Treatment in Living Dystrophic Mice with Energy-based and Entropy-based RadioFrequency Signal Processing. IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control;2007; 54:2291-2299.

Moxley, R.T., Ashwal, S., Pandya, S., Connolly, A., Florrence, J. Matthews, K., Baumbach, L. McConald, C. Sussman, M. Wade, C. Practice Paremeter: Corticosteroid treatment of Duchenne MD Practice Parameter 2005; Neurology 64:13-20.

Marden, FA, Connolly, AM, Siegel, MJ, Rubin, DA: Compositional Analysis of Muscle in Boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy using MRI, In Press, Skeletal Radiology.

Gurnett, CA, Bodnar, Neil, J, Milone, M. Connolly, AM. Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome: Presentation, Electrodiagnosis, and Muscle Biopsy, 2004, J. Child Neurology.

Falsaperla R., Romeo G, Sorge A, Bianchini R, DiGiorgio A, Trigilia T, Mattina T, Connolly AM. Mental retardation and early onset of weakness in a girl with a dystrophinopathy and a large Xp21-23 deletion. 2003, J. Child Neurol;18:79-81.

Connolly, A.M., Sheirbecker, J., Renna, R.; Florence J. High dose weekly oral prednisone improves strength in boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. 2002, Neuromuscular Disorders; 12:917-925.

Connolly, A.M, Keeling R.M., Streif, B. Pestronk, A. Mehta, S. Complement 3 deficiency and oral prednisolone improve strength and prolong survival of laminin alpha 2-deficient mice. 2002, J. Neuroimmunology 127:80-7.

Connolly, A. M., Keeling, R.M., Mehta, S. Pestronk, A. Sanes, J.R. Three mouse models of muscular dystrophy; the natural history of strength and fatigue in the mdx, mdx:utrn-/- and dy/dy mice. 2001, Neuromuscular Disorders; 11:703-712.