What diseases can be mistaken for ALS?

What diseases can be mistaken for ALS?

A number of disorders may mimic ALS; examples include:

• Myasthenia gravis.
• Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome.
• Lyme disease.
• Poliomyelitis and post-poliomyelitis.
• Heavy metal intoxication.
• Kennedy syndrome.
• Adult-onset Tay-Sachs disease.
• Hereditary spastic paraplegia.

How often does ALS get misdiagnosed?

How often the first diagnosis of ALS wrong and the problem turns out to be something else? In up to about 10 to 15\% of the cases, patients get what we call a false-positive. That means they are told they have ALS, but, in the end, another disease or condition is discovered to be the real problem.

What is the difference between Kennedy’s disease and ALS?

A key feature that distinguishes Kennedy’s disease from ALS is the absence of involvement of upper motor neurons, which causes increased reflexes and spasticity in ALS.

Can MS be misdiagnosed as ALS?

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) often is mistaken for multiple sclerosis (MS). In fact, they share similar symptoms and features, such as scarring around the nerves (sclerosis), causing muscle spasms, difficulty in walking, and fatigue.

Can myasthenia mimic ALS?

Abstract. Muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) myasthenia gravis (MG) is hallmarked by the predominant involvement of bulbar muscles and muscle atrophy. This might mimic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) presenting with bulbar weakness.

Is Kennedy’s disease fatal?

Weakness of the facial and tongue muscles may occur later in the course of the disease and often leads to dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing), dysarthria (slurring of speech), and recurrent aspiration pneumonia. Some individuals de… Kennedy’s disease is an inherited motor neuron disease that affects males.

Why is it called Kennedy’s disease?

Kennedy disease is named after William R. Kennedy, MD, who described this condition in an abstract in 1966 and a full report in 1968.

Can thyroid disease mimic ALS?

Systemic disease Hyperthyroidism may misdiagnoses as ALS. It presents with corticospinal tract signs (hyperreflexia), fasciculations, weight loss, and weakness. However, there usually are additional systemic signs such as heat intolerance, anxiety, tremor, tachycardia, and insomnia.

Can ALS be misdiagnosed?

ALS is not an easy disease to diagnose, and it’s been estimated that as many as 15\% of ALS cases are misdiagnosed. Because ALS is a rather rare disease, many doctors have no experience diagnosing ALS.

What diseases mimic ALS symptoms?

Progressive bulbar palsy, also called PBP, is a motor neuron degenerative disease that develops symptoms similar to those of ALS. In children, the common symptoms of spinal muscular atrophy are respiratory infections, nasal speech and poor posture due to a lack of muscle tone. There is no treatment to slow the progression of the disease.

What are other conditions mimic early ALS?

Beware: there are other diseases that mimic ALS. A number of disorders may mimic ALS; examples include: Cervical spondylosis or extramedullary tumor with compressive radiculopathy and myelopathy Motor neuron syndromes with lymphoproliferative disorders or other malignancies (e.g., lung, breast)

What are the three types of ALS disease?

Types of ALS There are three types of ALS: sporadic, familial, and Guamanian (Segala). Patients with “Sporadic” ALS also show signs of oxidative damage like abnormal protein aggregation, increased levels of calcium between cells, and mitochondrial injury(LEF Protocol for ALS).