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Neurology (Expert Forum)
ALS Concerns
This forum is for questions and support regarding neurology issues such as: Alzheimer's Disease, ALS, Autism, Brain Cancer, Cerebral Palsy, Chronic Pain, Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, Headaches, MS, Neuralgia, Neuropathy, Parkinson's Disease, RSD, Sleep Disorders, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury
ALS Concerns
by Scott, Oct 30, 2000 12:00AM
I am a 35 year old male concerned about ALS - I have had considerable muscle twiching in my foot, calf, arm and hand. Stiffness in my hands and shoulder, some mild diffculty in walking, hyper reflexes in the both legs. And most recently I have been experiencing small "jerk" reflexes of the arms, legs, and head.
I have seen a neuro. who performed the following tests, with results:
1. Neuro exam - no obvious signs of weakness.
2. EMG of arm & leg - normal
3. EEG - normal
4. Brain MRI - normal
5. C-spine MRI- He indicated that they found a mild abnormality at the upper level of some degenerative disease which he said would not cause the type of symptoms I was experiencing. I will be getting a more detail update in a couple of days.
My questions is - Are these types of "jerking" motions indicative of ALS and would a degenerative disease of the C-spine cause these types of symptoms ?
Any suggestions on further course of testing ?
I have seen a neuro. who performed the following tests, with results:
1. Neuro exam - no obvious signs of weakness.
2. EMG of arm & leg - normal
3. EEG - normal
4. Brain MRI - normal
5. C-spine MRI- He indicated that they found a mild abnormality at the upper level of some degenerative disease which he said would not cause the type of symptoms I was experiencing. I will be getting a more detail update in a couple of days.
My questions is - Are these types of "jerking" motions indicative of ALS and would a degenerative disease of the C-spine cause these types of symptoms ?
Any suggestions on further course of testing ?
Doctor's Answer
by CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS, Oct 31, 2000 12:00AM
Dear Scott:
Sorry to hear about your twitching. Fasciculations (twitching) without muscle weakness is not ALS. The neurological exam together with the negative EMG study would be good evidence that you do not have ALS. Yes, spinal cord problems can cause fasciculations and hyper-reflexia. I would wait for the MRI to see if there is compromise of the cord due to spinal column degeneration. The MRI being normal would rule out another class of diseses, such as MS that could produce your symptoms. I would imagine that you would have had the usual laboratory tests of CBC, sedimentation rate, vitamin B12 level, etc. Assuming that these are all normal, then see what the MRI of the spine reveals and go from there. You may have an entity that we call benign fasciculations.
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro MD
Sorry to hear about your twitching. Fasciculations (twitching) without muscle weakness is not ALS. The neurological exam together with the negative EMG study would be good evidence that you do not have ALS. Yes, spinal cord problems can cause fasciculations and hyper-reflexia. I would wait for the MRI to see if there is compromise of the cord due to spinal column degeneration. The MRI being normal would rule out another class of diseses, such as MS that could produce your symptoms. I would imagine that you would have had the usual laboratory tests of CBC, sedimentation rate, vitamin B12 level, etc. Assuming that these are all normal, then see what the MRI of the spine reveals and go from there. You may have an entity that we call benign fasciculations.
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro MD
