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David Lacomis, MD

Professor of Neurology and Pathology, Chief, Neuromuscular Division

Dr. Lacomis is a member of the Division of Neuropathology and Department of Neurology. He is Neuromuscular Pathologist.

Clinical Expertise

Dr. Lacomis specializes in the histopathologic, clinical, and electrophysiologic aspects of neuromuscular diseases.  In addition to his work in Neuropathology, he is the Chief of the Neuromuscular Division, Director of the MDA Care Center, and Co-director of the EMG Laboratory at UPMC-Presbyterian.

Specialties

Autoimmune myopathies, Critical illness myopathy and neuropathy

Education & Training
MD – Pennsylvania State University, 1987
Residency – Neurology, Harvard Longwood Program, 1991
Fellowships – Clinical, Electromyographic, and Pathological Aspects of Neuromuscular Disorders, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, 1993
Research Interests

Dr. Lacomis’ research centers on clinical drug trials, biomarkers, epidemiology, imaging, and neurotechnology related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and ALS mimics. He also has an interest in critical illness myopathy and autoimmune myopathies.

Representative Publications

View Dr. Lacomis’ publications on PubMed

  1. Lacomis D, Giuliani MJ, Van Cott A, Kramer DJ.  Acute myopathy of intensive care:  clinical, electromyographic, and pathological aspects.  Ann Neurol 1996;40:645-654.
  2. Campellone JV, Lacomis D, Kramer DJ, Van Cott AC, Giuliani MJ.  Acute myopathy after liver transplantation.  Neurology 1998;50:46-53.
  3. Zivkovic S, Lacomis D. Sarcoid neuropathy:  case report and review of literature.  J Clin Neuromusc Dis 2004;5:184-189.
  4. Ranganathan S, Georgina  CBN, Henry S, Lutka F, Sathanoori R, Lacomis D, Bowser R.  Comparative proteomic profiling of cerebrospinal fluid between living and postmortem ALS and control subjects.  Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis 2007;8:373-379.
  5. Wang H, Larrieviere  KS, Keller KE, Ware KA, Burns TM, Conaway MA, Lacomis D, Pattee GL, Phillips LH, Solenski NJ, Zivkovic SA, Bennett JP. R(+) pramipexole as a mitochondrially focused neuroprotectant: Initial phase II studies in ALS. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis 2007;9:50-58.
  6. Abdel-Hamid H, Oddis CV, Lacomis D.  Severe hydroxychloroquine myopathy.  Muscle Nerve 2008; 38:1206-1210.
  7. López de Padilla CM, Vallejo AN, Lacomis D, McNallan K, Reed AM.  Extra-nodal lymphoid microstructures in inflamed muscle and disease severity of new-onset juvenile dermatomyositis.  Arthritis Rheum 2009;60:1160-1172.
  8. Ganesalingam J, An J, Shaw C, Shaw G, Lacomis D, Bowser R. Combination of neurofilament heavy chain and complement C3 as CSF biomarkers for ALS.  Journal of Neurochemistry 2011:117, 528-537.
  9. Lacomis D. Electrophysiology of neuromuscular disorders in critical illness. Muscle Nerve 2013;47:452-463. PMID: 23386582.
  10. Tarr T, Malick W, Liang M, Valdomir G, Frasso M, Lacomis D, Reddel S, Garcia-Ocano A, Wipf P, Meriney S.  Evaluation of a novel calcium channel agonist for therapeutic potential in Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome.  J Neurosci.  J Neurosci 2013 June 19;33(25):10559-67. PMID: 23785168.