electromyography or (emg). this procedure determines if nerve or muscle cells are damaged. since a common symptom of nemaline myopathy is muscle weakness this allows doctors to determine where and why the weakness is occurring. mri of the musculoskeletal system. mri uses a magnetic field to take pictures of body structures and allows physicians to determine if a patient has a certain disease. needle biopsy a needle biopsy allows a physician to test specific cells in the body. these cells are sent to a laboratory to undergo testing and can further determine why muscle weakness throughout the body could be occurring. this testing can confirm that muscle cells contain rod like structures. treatment at present, nemaline myopathy does not have a cure. nemaline myopathy is a very rare disease that only affects 1 out of 50,000 on average, although recent studies show that this number is even smaller. there are a number of treatments to minimize the symptoms of the disease. the treatments and procedures to help patients with nemaline myopathy vary depending on the severity of the disease. a possible accommodation could be the use of a stabilizer, such as a brace. other means include moderate stretching and moderate exercise to help target muscles maintain maximum health. as people with nm grow and develop throughout their lives, it is important for them to see a variety of health professionals regularly, including a neurologist, physical therapist, and others, such as speech therapists and psychologists, to help both the patient and family adjust to everyday life. outcome although there is no cure for nm, it is possible, and common for many people live healthy active lives even with moderate to severe cases. research continues to seek ways to ameliorate debilitating symptoms and lengthen the life-span in quality ways for those affected. some people have seen mild improvements in secretion handling, energy level, and physical functioning with supplemental l-tyrosine, an amino acid that is available through health centers. some symptoms may worsen as the patient ages. muscle loss increases with age naturally, but it is even more significant with nemaline myopathy. current research new research resources have become available for the nm community, such as the cmdir (registry) and the cmd-tr (biorepository). these two resources connect families and individuals interested in participating in research with the scientists that aim to treat or cure nm. some research on nm seeks to better understand the molecular effects the gene mutations have on muscle cells and the rest of the body and to observe any connections nm may have to other diseases and health complications. history "rod myopathy" was first identified by douglas reye, an australian physician, in 1958. however, reye's results were never published because another doctor dismissed his finding of rods in the muscle tissue as an artifact of the biopsy. forty years later, reye's "rod myopathy" patient was confirmed to have nemaline myopathy. another group of australian researchers has since published an article recognizing reye for his work. "nemaline myopathy" was first named in a published paper in 1963 by north american researchers p.e. cohen and g. m. shy. shy and his team discovered rod- like structures in muscle fibers of patients with muscle weakness by performing muscle biopsies on multiple patients. laboratories performing research on nm are located around the world, notably in the united states, canada, england, finland, and australia. society and culture in 1999, the nm community and first website (www.nemaline.org) for nemaline myopathy was launched by david mcdougall, and in october 2004, the first nemaline myopathy conference was hosted in toronto, canada, by nemaline myopathy support group. many more conferences and social events have been held since, and all events organized since 2008 have been co-sponsored by a foundation building strength for nemaline myopathy (afbs), the only foundation focused on supporting treatment development and social events for the nm community. in march 2006, niki shisler released a book, fragile, in which she recounted her experiences surrounding the birth of twin sons with severe nm. in 2014, a team of experts collaborated with affected individuals and families caring for someone with a congenital myopathy to develop the first guidebook on managing life with a congenital myopathy