Is there other diseaes that could be similar to ALS

Hi my sister in law was diagnosed with ALS we are trying to get a second opinion she has lost a lot of muscle use in both arms and her hands look deformed now, making it difficult to even hold a spoon. This all happened with in eight months could it be anything else?

[TNTTony]

Yes, there are many neuromuscular diseases. The question would be what battery of tests she underwent. Also what makes me question the diagnosis is you just mentioned her arms. ALS affects both the upper and lower body. My neuro would not diagnosis my condition as ALS until I had muscle weakness in both my arms and legs. My legs were the first affected. The tests that should've been run are MRI's (brain, and spinal cord), blood tests, EMG, spinal tap. These tests are used to rule out other diseases as at this time there is no test which diagnoses ALS. I wish your sister in law all the best. Yes she should get a second opinion.