Education & Training

Medical School

University of Louisville

Internship

Internal Medicine

  • University of Louisville

Residency

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

  • University of Louisville Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation GME

Fellowship

Neuromuscular Medicine

  • Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Boards

American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation/Neuromuscular Medicine

Insurances

MU Health Care participates with most major managed care organizations. To find out whether MU Health Care is a participating provider in your insurance plan or network, or for information on co-payments and deductibles, please contact your insurance carrier directly.

In the News

Academic Information

Executive Director, NextGen Precision Health
Professor, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Office

1030 Hitt Street
NextGen Precision Health Building
Columbia, MO 65212
United States

P. 573-884-2924

Research Profile

Dr. Arnold’s research program is focused on translational neuromuscular physiology in the context health, aging, and disease. His lab leverages clinical and preclinical studies to understand mechanisms of biological aging of the nervous system as well as genetic, acquired, and sporadic disorders of muscle and the motoneuron. In particular, he is interested in mechanisms of decline of the nervous system and muscle during aging and understanding ways to improve resiliency of nervous system function across the lifespan.

NextGen Precision Health

Research Interests

  • Neurobiology of aging
  • Biomarkers and treatments for neuromuscular disorders
  • Translational neuromuscular physiology

Areas of Expertise

  • Genetic, acquired, and sporadic neuromuscular disorders
  • Healthy aging
  • Clinical neuromuscular electrophysiological testing

Awards & Honors

  • 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award, University of the Cumberlands
  • 2018 University of Louisville and Frazier Rehabilitation Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Barry S. Smith Alumni of the Year Award
  • 2017-2018 Teacher of the Year Award, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at The Ohio State University
  • 2013-2016 Rehabilitation Medicine Scientist Training Program Fellowship

Publications

  • Moser SE, Brown AM, Clark BC, Arnold WD, Baumann CW. Neuromuscular mechanisms of weakness in a mouse model of chronic alcoholic myopathy. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2022 Sep;46(9):1636-1647. Epub 2022 Aug 2. PMID: 35869821.
  • Brokamp G, Hurst L, Hartog L, Vilson F, Reynolds J, Elsheikh BH, Arnold WD. Characterizing Ventilatory Muscle Dysfunction in Inclusion Body Myositis. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2022 Oct 1. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36228186
  • Rich KA, Fox A, Yalvac M,..Arnold WD...et al. Neurofilament Levels in CSF and Serum in an Adult SMA Cohort Treated with Nusinersen. J Neuromuscul Dis. 2022;9(1):111-119.
  • Deutsch GK, Hagerman KA, Sampson J,.Arnold WD..et al. Brief assessment of cognitive function in myotonic dystrophy: Multicenter longitudinal study using computer-assisted evaluation. Muscle Nerve. May 2022;65(5):560-567.
  • Tedeschi A, Larson MJ, Zouridakis A, Mo L, Bordbar A, Myers JM, Qin HY, Rodocker HI, Fan F, Lannutti JJ, McElroy CA, Nimjee SM Peng J, Arnold WD, Moon LD, and Sun W. Harnessing cortical plasticity via gabapentinoid administration promotes recovery after stroke. Brain. 2022 (Accepted)
  • Atkinson JR, Jerome AD, Sas A, Munie A, Wang C, Ma A, Arnold WD, Segal BM. Biological Aging of CNS-Resident Cells Alters the Clinical Course and Immunopathology of Autoimmune Demyelinating Disease. JCI. 2022 (Accepted)
  • Petrosino JM, Hinger SA, Golubeva VA, Barajas JM, Dorn LE, Iyer CC, Sun HL, Arnold WD, He C, Accornero F. The m6A methyltransferase METTL3 regulates muscle maintenance and growth in mice. Nat Commun. 2022 Jan 10;13(1):168. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-27848-7. PubMed PMID: 35013323.
  • Kray KM, McGovern VL, Chugh D, Arnold WD, Burghes AHM. Dual SMN inducing therapies can rescue survival and motor unit function in symptomatic ∆7SMA mice. Neurobiol Dis. 2021 Nov;159:105488. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105488. Epub 2021 Aug 20. PubMed PMID: 34425216; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8502210.
  • Arnold WD, Severyn S, Zhao S, Kline D, Linsenmayer M, Kelly K, Tellez M, Bartlett A, Heintzman S, Reynolds J, Sterling G, Weaver T, Rajneesh K, Burghes AHM, Kolb SJ, Elsheikh B. Persistent NMJ transmission defects in adults with SMA treated with nusinersen. BMJ Neurology Open.  (2021)
  • Padilla CJ, Ferreyro FA, Arnold WD. Anthropometry as a Readily Accessible Health Assessment of Older Adults. Experimental Gerontology. (2021)
  • Xu, L., Zhang, C., Li, H., Wang P., Gao Y., Mokadam N., Ma J., Arnold WD, Han R. et al. Efficient precise in vivo base editing in adult dystrophic mice. Nat Commun 12, 3719 (2021).
  • Balch MH, Harris H, Chugh D, Gnyawali S, Rink C, Nimjee SM, Arnold WD. Ischemic Stroke-Induced Polyaxonal neuronal Innervation at the Neuromuscular Junction is Attenuated By Robot-Assisted Mechanical Therapy. Exp Neurol. (2021)
  • Clark LA, Russ DW, Tavoian D, Arnold WD, Law TD, France CR, Clark BC. Heterogeneity of the Strength Response to Progressive Resistance Exercise Training in Older Adults: Contributions of Muscle Contractility. Experimental Gerontology (2021)
  • Morena J, Jiang B, Freimer M, Hoyle JC, Elsheikh B, Arnold WD, LoRusso S. Characteristics of Triple Seronegative Myasthenia Gravis: A Single Center Experience. RRNMF Neuromuscular Journal. (2021)
  • Xu L, Zhang C, Li H, Wang P, Gao Y, Mokadam N, Ma J, Arnold WD, Han R. Efficient precise in vivo base editing in adult dystrophic mice. Nature Communications. (2021)
  • Makara J, Shen S, Nwosu A, Arnold WD, Smith G, Zhu M. A Cross-sectional Study of Characteristics of Bicyclist Upper and Lower Extremity Injuries in Bicycle-Vehicle Crashes in Ohio, United States, 2013-2017. BMC Public Health. (2021)
  • Elsheikh B, Severyn S, Zhao S, …Arnold WD. Safety, tolerability, and effect of nusinersen in ambulatory adults with spinal muscular atrophy. Frontiers in Neurology (2021)
  • Padilla CJ, Harrigan ME, Harris H, Schwab JM, Rutkove SB, Rich MM, Clark BC, Arnold WD. Profiling age-related muscle weakness and wasting: neuromuscular junction transmission as a driver of age-related physical decline. Geroscience. 2021. Epub 2021/04/26. doi: 10.1007/s11357-021-00369-3. PubMed PMID: 33895959.
  • Elsheikh B, Severyn S, Zhao S, …Arnold WD. Safety, tolerability, and effect of nusinersen in non-ambulatory adults with spinal muscular atrophy. Frontiers in Neurology (2021)
  • Hartog L, Zhao J, Reynolds J, Brokamp G, Vilson F, Arnold WD*, LoRusso S*. Factors Influencing the Severity and Progression of Respiratory Muscle Dysfunction in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1. Frontiers in Neurology (2021) *co-senior authors
  • Clark BC, Rutkove SR, Lupton EC, Arnold WD. Potential utility of electrical impedance myography in evaluating age-related skeletal muscle function deficits. Frontiers in Physiology. (2021)
  • Chen E, Dixon S, Naik R, Noone JM, Buchenberger JD, Whitmire SM, Mills R, Arnold W. Early experiences of nusinersen for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy: Results from a large survey of patients and caregivers. Muscle Nerve. 2021 Mar;63(3):311-319. doi: 10.1002/mus.27116. Epub 2020 Dec 19. PubMed PMID: 33184859; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7986200.
  • Lemmerman LR, Balch MHH, Moore JT, Alzate-Correa D, Rincon-Benavides MA, Salazar-Puerta A, Gnyawali S, Harris HN, Lawrence W, Ortega-Pineda L, Wilch L, Risser IB, Maxwell AJ, Duarte-Sanmiguel S, Dodd D, Guio-Vega GP, McTigue DM, Arnold WD, Nimjee SM, Sen CK, Khanna S, Rink C, Higuita-Castro N, Gallego-Perez D. Nanotransfection-based vasculogenic cell reprogramming drives functional recovery in a mouse model of ischemic stroke. Sci Adv. 2021 Mar;7(12). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abd4735. Print 2021 Mar. PubMed PMID: 33741587; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7978431.
  • Annaswamy TM, Rizzo JR, Schnappinger A, Morgenroth DC, Engkasan JP, Ilieva E, Arnold WD, Boninger M, Bean AC, Cirstea CM, Dicianno BE, Fredericson M, Jayabalan P, Raghavan P, Sawaki L, Suri P, Suskauer SJ, Wang QM, Hosseini M, Case C, Whyte J, Paganoni S. Evidence-Based Medicine Training in US-based Physiatry Residency Programs. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2021 Apr 8;. doi: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000001752. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 33852491.
  • Iyer CC, Chugh D, Bobbili PJ, Arnold WD. Follistatin-induced Muscle Hypertrophy in Aged mice Improves Neuromuscular Junction Innervation and Function. Neurobiology of Aging. 2021 2021/03/12/.
  • Ampomah KK, Clark BC, Arnold WD, Burwell D. An uncommon cause of headache and dizziness after cruise travel: case report of Mal De Debarquement syndrome. J Osteopath Med. 2021 Mar 2.
  • Chugh D, Iyer CC, Bobbili P, ...Arnold WD. Voluntary Wheel Running with and without Follistatin Overexpression Improves NMJ Transmission but not motor unit loss in Late Life of C57BL/6J Mice. Neurobiology of Aging. 2021 2021/02/05/.
  • Monnette, A., E. Chen, D. Hong, A. Bazzano, S. Dixon, Arnold WD and Shi L (2021). "Treatment preference among patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA): a discrete choice experiment." Orphanet J Rare Dis 16(1): 36. PMID: 33472673
  • McGovern, V. L., K. M. Kray, Arnold WD, Duque SI, Iyer CC, Massoni-Laporte A, Workman E, Patel A, Battle DJ, Burghes AHM. (2021). "Intragenic complementation of amino and carboxy terminal SMN missense mutations can rescue Smn null mice." Hum Mol Genet 29(21): 3493-3503. PMID: 33084884
  • Clark, B. C. and Arnold WD. (2021). "Strategies to Prevent Serious Fall Injuries: A Commentary on Bhasin et al. A Randomized Trial of a Multifactorial Strategy to Prevent Serious Fall Injuries. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(2):129-140." Adv Geriatr Med Res 3(1). PMID: 33283207
  • Moore JT, Wier CG, Lemmerman LR, Ortega-Pineda L, Dodd DJ, Lawrence WR, Duarte-Sanmiguel S, Dathathreya K, Diaz-Starokozheva L, Harris HN, Sen CK, Valerio IL, Higuita-Castro N, Arnold WD, Kolb SJ, Gallego-Perez D. Nanochannel-Based Poration Drives Benign and Effective Nonviral Gene Delivery to Peripheral Nerve Tissue.Adv Biosyst. 2020 Nov;4(11):e2000157. doi: 10.1002/adbi.202000157. Epub 2020 Sep 16.PMID: 32939985
  • Miller VJ, LaFountain RA, Barnhart E, Sapper TS, Short J, Arnold WD, Hyde PN, Crabtree CD, Kackley ML, Kraemer WJ, Villamena FA, Volek JS. A ketogenic diet combined with exercise alters mitochondrial function in human skeletal muscle while improving metabolic health. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Dec 1;319(6):E995-E1007. doi: 10.1152/ ajpendo.00305.2020. Epub 2020 Sep 28. PMID: 32985255
  • Meyer AP, Roggenbuck J, LoRusso S, Kissel J, Smith RM, Kline D, Arnold WD. Genotype-Phenotype Correlations and Characterization of Medication Use in Inherited Myotonic Disorders. Frontiers in Neurology. 2020;11(593). doi: 10.3389/fneur.2020.00593.
  • Arnold WD, Padilla Colón CJ. "Maintaining Muscle Function Across the Lifespan: The State of Science". American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation 2020.
  • Harrigan, M. E., A. R. Filous, A. P. Tosolini, R. Morris, J. M. Schwab and W. D. Arnold (2019). "Assessing Rat Forelimb and Hindlimb Motor Unit Connectivity as Objective and Robust Biomarkers of Spinal Motor Neuron Function." Sci Rep 9(1): 16699.
  • Al-Zaidy, S. A., S. J. Kolb, L. Lowes, L. N. Alfano, R. Shell, K. R. Church, S. Nagendran, D. M. Sproule, D. E. Feltner, C. Wells, F. Ogrinc, M. Menier, J. L'Italien, W. D. Arnold, J. T. Kissel, B. K. Kaspar and J. R. Mendell (2019). "AVXS-101 (Onasemnogene Abeparvovec) for SMA1: Comparative Study with a Prospective Natural History Cohort." J Neuromuscul Dis 6(3): 307-317.
  • Tavoian, D., Arnold, W. D., Mort, S. C., & de Lacalle, S. (2019). Sex differences in body composition but not neuromuscular function following long-term, doxycycline-induced reduction in circulating levels of myostatin in mice. PLoS One, 14(11), e0225283. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0225283
  • Lorusso, S., Kline, D., Bartlett, A., Freimer, M., Agriesti, J., Hawash, A. A., . . . Arnold, W. D. (2019). Open-label trial of ranolazine for the treatment of paramyotonia congenita. Muscle Nerve, 59(2), 240-243. doi:10.1002/mus.26372
  • Saba, K., Hossieny, Z. S., Arnold, W. D., Elsheikh, B., Palettas, M., Kline, D., & Stino, A. M. (2019). CSF Protein Level and Short-Term Prognosis in Guillain-Barre Syndrome. J Clin Neuromuscul Dis, 21(2), 118-119. doi:10.1097/cnd.0000000000000259
  • Quinlan, K. A., Reedich, E. J., Arnold, W. D., Puritz, A. C., Cavarsan, C. F., Heckman, C. J., & DiDonato, C. J. (2019). Hyperexcitability precedes motoneuron loss in the Smn(2B/-) mouse model of spinal muscular atrophy. J Neurophysiol, 122(4), 1297-1311. doi:10.1152/jn.00652.2018
  • Nagarajan, P., Agudelo Garcia, P. A., Iyer, C. C., Popova, L. V., Arnold, W. D., & Parthun, M. R. (2019). Early-onset aging and mitochondrial defects associated with loss of histone acetyltransferase 1 (Hat1). Aging Cell, 18(5), e12992. doi:10.1111/acel.12992
  • Lowes, L. P., Alfano, L. N., Arnold, W. D., Shell, R., Prior, T. W., McColly, M., . . . Mendell, J. (2019). Impact of Age and Motor Function in a Phase 1/2A Study of Infants With SMA Type 1 Receiving Single-Dose Gene Replacement Therapy. Pediatr Neurol, 98, 39-45. doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2019.05.005
  • Elsheikh, B., King, W., Peng, J., Swoboda, K. J., Reyna, S. P., LaSalle, B., . .Arnold, WD, Kolb, S. J. (2019). Outcome measures in a cohort of ambulatory adults with spinal muscular atrophy. Muscle Nerve. doi:10.1002/mus.26756
  • Chugh, D., Iyer, C. C., Wang, X., Bobbili, P., Rich, M. M., & Arnold, W. D. (2019). Neuromuscular Junction Transmission Failure is a Late Phenotype in Aging Mice. Neurobiology of Aging. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2019.10.022
  • Cardona, A., Arnold, W. D., Kissel, J. T., Raman, S. V., & Zareba, K. M. (2019). Myocardial fibrosis by late gadolinium enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance in myotonic muscular dystrophy type 1: highly prevalent but not associated with surface conduction abnormality. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson, 21(1), 26. doi:10.1186/s12968-019-0535-6.
  • Arnold, W. D., & Clark, B. C. (2019). Faster, higher, farther: outpacing age-related motor neuron losses. J Physiol, 597(19), 4867-4868. doi:10.1113/jp278735
  • Al-Zaidy S, Pickard AS, Kotha K, Alfano LN, Lowes L, Paul G, Church K, Lehman K, Sproule DM, Dabbous O, Maru B, Berry K, Arnold WD, Kissel JT, Mendell JR, Shell R. Health outcomes in spinal muscular atrophy type 1 following AVXS-101 gene replacement therapy. Pediatric Pulmonology. 2018.
  • Wier CG, Crum AE, Reynolds AB, Iyer CC, Chugh D, Palettas MS, Heilman PL, Kline DM, Arnold WD, Kolb SJ. Muscle contractility dysfunction precedes loss of motor unit connectivity in SOD1(G93A) mice. Muscle Nerve 2018.
  • Sheth, K. A., C. C. Iyer, C. G. Wier, A. E. Crum, A. Bratasz, S. J. Kolb, B. C. Clark, A. H. M. Burghes and W. D. Arnold (2018). "Muscle strength and size are associated with motor unit connectivity in aged mice." Neurobiol Aging 67: 128-136.
  • Sahenk, Z., M. E. Yalvac, J. Amornvit, W. D. Arnold, L. Chen, K. M. Shontz and S. Lewis (2018). "Efficacy of exogenous pyruvate in Trembler(J) mouse model of Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy." Brain Behav 8(10): e01118.
  • LoRusso, S., B. Weiner and W. D. Arnold (2018). "Myotonic Dystrophies: Targeting Therapies for Multisystem Disease." Neurotherapeutics.
  • Prior DE, Nurre E, Roller SL, Kline D, Panara R, Stino AM, Davis JA, Freimer ML, Arnold WD. Infections and the relationship to treatment in neuromuscular autoimmunity. Muscle & Nerve 2018;57(6):927-931.
  • Leblanc, A. F., J. A. Sprowl, P. Alberti, A. Chiorazzi, W. D. Arnold, A. A. Gibson, K. W. Hong, M. S. Pioso, M. Chen, K. M. Huang, V. Chodisetty, O. Costa, T. Florea, P. de Bruijn, R. H. Mathijssen, R. E. Reinbolt, M. B. Lustberg, L. E. Sucheston-Campbell, G. Cavaletti, A. Sparreboom and S. Hu (2018). "OATP1B2 deficiency protects against paclitaxel-induced neurotoxicity." J Clin Invest 128(2): 816-825.
  • Iyer, C. C., K. M. Corlett, A. Massoni-Laporte, S. I. Duque, N. Madabusi, S. Tisdale, V. L. McGovern, T. T. Le, P. G. Zaworski, W. D. Arnold, L. Pellizzoni and A. H. M. Burghes (2018). "Mild SMN missense alleles are only functional in the presence of SMN2 in mammals." Hum Mol Genet 27(19): 3404-3416.
  • Bartlett, A., S. J. Kolb, A. Kingsley, K. J. Swoboda, S. P. Reyna, A. Sakonju, B. T. Darras, R. Shell, N. Kuntz, D. Castro, S. T. Iannaccone, J. Parsons, A. M. Connolly, C. A. Chiriboga, C. McDonald, W. B. Burnette, K. Werner, M. Thangarajh, P. B. Shieh, E. Finanger, C. S. Coffey, J. W. Yankey, M. E. Cudkowicz, M. M. McGovern, D. E. McNeil, W. D. Arnold and J. T. Kissel (2018). "Recruitment & retention program for the NeuroNEXT SMA Biomarker Study: Super Babies for SMA!" Contemp Clin Trials Commun 11: 113-119.