Michael Skolka, MD, Receives 2023 Golseth Young Investigator Award

Michael Skolka, MD, has received the 2023 Golseth Young Investigator Award for his abstract titled, "The Utility of Electrodiagnostic Testing in Rhabdomyolysis in the Era of Next Generation Sequencing."

Dr. Skolka, a NM fellow at Mayo Clinic, explored the utility of EMG in rhabdomyolysis. His objective was to identify rhabdomyolysis patients with a high likelihood of myopathic EMG and to examine the correlation between EDX findings and the underlying etiology of the unprovoked rhabdomyolysis.

“We found that myopathic EMG occurred in approximately half of our rhabdomyolysis patients. Patients with weakness and elevated CK at baseline were more likely to have myopathic EMG, and most patients with myopathic EMG had non-metabolic myopathies instead of metabolic myopathies as an underlying etiology of rhabdomyolysis. Additionally, non-myopathic EMG did not exclude an underlying myopathy.”

One unexpected discovery was that the data supported evaluating patients for an underlying myopathy following unprovoked rhabdomyolysis even if they only had one episode of rhabdomyolysis, challenging the current clinical tendency to assess patients only after recurrent episodes. The team also designed an algorithm to guide healthcare providers in evaluating patients who have experienced an episode of unprovoked rhabdomyolysis.

“I want to sincerely thank all of my mentors at Mayo Clinic and at the AANEM, especially Dr. Teerin Liewluck as well as Drs. Margherita Milone, Ruple Laughlin, William Litchy, and Devon Rubin, who all helped with this project and who have guided me along the way in my training,” he said. “I wouldn’t be the physician and researcher I am today without the help of my colleagues and the support of my family and wife. This award goes to all of them as much as it goes to me.”