Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (cont.)
How is ALS diagnosed?
No one test can provide a definitive diagnosis of ALS,
although the presence of upper and lower motor neuron signs in a single limb is strongly suggestive.
Instead, the diagnosis of ALS is primarily based on the symptoms and signs the
physician observes in the patient and a series of tests to rule out other
diseases. Physicians obtain the patient's full medical history and usually
conduct a neurologic examination at regular intervals to assess whether symptoms
such as muscle weakness, atrophy of muscles, hyperreflexia, and spasticity are
getting progressively worse.
Because symptoms of ALS can be similar to those of a wide
variety of other, more treatable diseases or disorders, appropriate tests must
be conducted to exclude the possibility of other conditions. One of these tests
is electromyography (EMG), a special recording technique that detects electrical
activity in muscles. Certain EMG findings can support the diagnosis of ALS.
Another common test measures nerve conduction velocity (NCV). Specific
abnormalities in the NCV results may suggest, for example, that the patient has
a form of peripheral neuropathy (damage to peripheral nerves) or myopathy
(muscle disease) rather than ALS. The physician may order magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI), a noninvasive
procedure that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to take detailed images of
the brain and spinal cord. Although these MRI scans are often normal in patients
with ALS, they can reveal evidence of other problems that may be causing the
symptoms, such as a spinal cord tumor, a
herniated disc in the neck,
syringomyelia, or cervical spondylosis.
Based on the patient's symptoms and findings from the
examination and from these tests, the physician may order tests on blood and
urine samples to eliminate the possibility of other diseases as well as routine
laboratory tests.
In some cases, for example, if a physician suspects that the patient may have a
myopathy rather than ALS, a muscle biopsy may be performed.
Infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV), human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV), and Lyme disease can in some cases
cause ALS-like symptoms. Neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis,
post-polio syndrome, multifocal motor neuropathy, and spinal muscular atrophy also can
mimic certain facets of the disease and should be considered by physicians
attempting to make a diagnosis.
Because of the prognosis carried by this diagnosis and the variety of
diseases or disorders that can resemble ALS in the early stages of the disease,
patients may wish to obtain a second neurological opinion.
Next: What causes ALS? »
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