Coma, MN Disease, Radiculopathy Flashcards
Familial Muscular Atrophy
anterior horn cell disease
Poliomyelitis
anterior horn cell disease - infection by polio virus
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
- Upper +/- Lower motor neuron degeneration
- progressive and lethal within about 5yr (usually)
- weakness, atrophic fasciculations, hyperreflexia, positive Babinski, spasticity
- atrophy progresses distal to proximal
- normal sensation
Werdnig-Hoffmann
“Infantile SMA”
- AR; SMN1/2 on CHR 5q - SMN1 absent, SMN2 short determines infantile type (instead of longer which would be juvenile)
- progressive LMN disease
- fatal (usually 2/2 respiratory failure)
- floppy baby, frog leg posture
Wolfart-Kugelberg-Welander
“Juvenile [Proximal Chronic] SMA”
- AR; SMN1/2 on CHR 5q - SMN1 absent, SMN2 longer determines juvenile (instead of infantile, shorter) type
- progressive LMN disease
[Progressive] Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)
- progressive LMN disease
- Infantile (AR): Werdnig-Hoffman
- Juvenile (AR): Wolfart-Kugelberg-Welander
- Adult-Onset: sporadic, some are familial
Progressive Bulbar Palsy
- like ALS but primarily affects the muscles innervated by the medulla (“bulbar atrophy”)
- also tongue atrophy
Progressive Lateral Sclerosis
- only affects UMNs (so like ALS but specific to UMNs)
- sporadic, more benign course (slower progression than ALS)
Differential for ALS
- Multisystem atrophy: late onset degenerative nerve disease that is progressive but slower than ALS
- Craniocervical junction disorders: get MRI to rule out
- Cervical spondylosis: would see mostly arm/hand weakness and maybe sensory loss (maybe not); also see on MRI as protruding discs
- Post-polio syndrome: must have had polio in childhood (cause of this is unknown - age-related degeneration of previously infected LMNs?)
Kennedy Disease
“Spinal Bulbar muscular atrophy”
- caused by androgen receptor mutations (X chr)–DNA test to diagnose
- classic phenotype = LMN syndrome, gynecomastia, testicular atrophy
- more benign, may present w/o family history
Non-progressive unilateral limb weakness and atrophy
- a more benign motor neuron syndrome
- etiology unclear but may be caused by dural compression of the spinal cord
How to differentiate ALS from a muscle weakness type presentation of myasthenia gravis or Eaton-Lambert syndrome?
Do an EMG.
Also, rule out myopathies with muscle biopsy and serum CPK.
Bunina body
- dense granule inclusions of ubiquitin in cell body cytoplasm of anterior horn cell neurons
- seen in ALS
Etiology of ALS
unknown; some genetic associations include:
- superoxide dismutase (SOD) mutation (AD, Chr 21)
- Chr 17-linked FTD
- others; but all (except SOD mutation) are rare
Treatment of ALS
- there is no cure
- Glutamate antagonists help
- symptomatic treatments (anticholinergics, antidepressants, respiratory assistance)
- PT
- experimental treatments are out there